The Logic Puzzle
by idkaname
Summary: Sequel to Underdog (so you might want to read that first, but you can survive either way) in the movie version of TMNT. Kaitlynn Daws is only an artist with a pasion for the night sky. She can't fight, she can't hold her own even in an argument. But after the Foot forces their way onto her roof and the brothers step into her life, she steps into their world and finds her strength.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: This is CM, the author of this fantastical little story, but not the owner of anything TMNT. The only thing I lay claim to is Emily Fredricks. **

**Well….enjoy!**

There was something beautiful about the light of a streetlamp fading into the night sky above Manhattan. It was beautiful enough to intrigue and to inspire. It was beautiful enough to make her want to paint it every night.

It also helped that it sold for nearly a thousand dollars a pop.

The nights were just beginning to chill as she sat out on her roof, a slender paintbrush held delicately in her equally slender hand. She saw cross legged on a bench, her jeans a light stony wash, her sweater a plush violet. Her strawberry blonde hair was twisted up at the nape of her neck, pulled away from her pale, heart shaped face. Her hazel eyes danced all over the canvas in front of her, looking for anything she missed from the view in front of her. She heard a few rustles to her right.

The rooftops were usually silent at that time of night, so she glanced to her right to investigate.

Shadows moved against the dark rooftops around her, but she paid no mind. Probably a bird or a cat. She turned back to the painting when she heard a thud behind her. She turned quickly and saw that the shadows were in fact people running around in black pajamas with red sashes and black masks.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice rising in shock.

The pajama men did not respond as they rushed around her rooftop. Her painting was knocked over behind her as she watched them scurry around silently.

"Get back here, you little cowards!" a hearty male voice called from a rooftop in the distance. The pajama men reacted frantically, drawing weapons out of the folds of their clothes.

She searched for the voice, looking into the darkness behind her rooftop. She could see and hear nothing, but the men around her must have seen something she didn't, because they began to panic even more. One of them grabbed her from behind, one strong arm snaking around her waist while the other pressed a knife to her throat.

When all the pajama men had drawn their weapons, they stood still. Out of the shadows, she saw four figures approaching. Large and well built men with packs on their backs ran over the roofs, metal glinting in a few of their hands.

"Help!" she cried. She didn't know who was approaching, but they seemed to be a better alternative than the pajama men.

The approaching men slowed down slightly as they entered into the lights of her roof.

They were not the men she had predicted. They were tall and muscular, though. But they were green and the packs she had seen on their backs were shells. The four figures slowly spreading out across her rooftop were giant humanoid turtles.

In her shock, her brain automatically began to think like an artist, picking up every minute detail. Each of the things had a colored bandana tied around its face. The farthest to the left was the smallest, standing a few inches shorter than the others, and was clothed in orange. Hanging from his hands were a pair of polished wooden nunchukus. She had seen enough movies to identify them. The next to the right was slightly taller and the thinnest of the group. There was a purple cloth across its face and a long staff in its hands. The next was nearly the same height but better muscled. It carried two swords and wore blue across its face. The farthest to the right was the bulkiest of the group and had the darkest skin. Its face was covered by a red bandana and it carried two sais.

She was more terrified of them than the pajama men.

"Let her go." The blue bandana one spoke calmly to the pajama men.

The man holding her tightened his grip on her. She felt the cool of the metal bite into her neck, causing her to cry out a little in pain. The one with the purple bandana twitched towards her, but remained in its place. "She is an insurance policy for us. Now, return to us the package." A pajama man to her right called back out to the turtle-human things.

The blue bandana shook his head before he nodded to the three around him. They began to slowly inch forward, their weapons at the ready. The purple bandana one came towards her and her holder. "Let her go." It repeated. Its voice was softer than the blue bandana.

The knife was dug deeper in her skin and she felt her knees begin to shake and give out. The staff was thrust out faster than she thought possible and struck the man holding her. He let go of her, but the knife drug across her neck.

In shock, fear, and pain, she collapsed to the ground. The purple bandana's arms stopped her journey early, though, and held her against the warm hardness of its chest. She could feel the blood dripping and rolling down her neck, but she didn't have the sense of mind to reach her hand up to stop the bleeding.

Looking up at her catcher, she saw it had milk chocolate eyes, a defined eye ridge, scrunched together in worry, a strong turtle-like jaw, and a few freckle like spots on one cheek. "What are you?" she asked un-bashfully, beginning to feel lightheaded.

It chuckled slightly, pressing its cool hand to her neck, trying to staunch the bleeding. "That's a tad bit heard to explain. Suffice to say, my name is Don. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I'm here to help. My brothers will take care of the rest of the Foot. You'll be safe. Is this your apartment here, the one with the window?"

"Yeah." Her eyelids began to flutter as it picked her up and gently brought her into the window. It looked like there were now two green things above her as she felt her head hit the softness of her pillow. Just before she let her eyes close, she felt the cool, three fingered hands tending to her neck.

She heard quiet, masculine talking around her as her eyes began to strain themselves to open. She recognized the one closest to her head. It came flooding back to her what exactly had happened with the pajama men and the giant turtle men. Apprehension forced her to keep her eyes shut and just listen.

"She could be another Emily." An excited voice chirped from the corner. A pained grunt came from the other corner. "Okay, how about another April?"

"That's better, Mikey." The familiar, closer voice sighed. "She could also freak and go running to the tabloids. I'm sorry I took the risk."

A sigh from nearby. "Any of us would have done the same. We've had a good track record about exposing ourselves to the humans. Besides, we're supposed to be protecting this city, not letting women die at the hands of the Foot."

She finally worked up the nerve to open her eyes. Sure enough, the giant turtle things were standing around her bed. The purple bandana—Don, she remembered—sat just to her right. The blue bandana stood behind him. The orange bandana leaned against the wall to the right while the red bandana leaned against the wall to the left.

"She's awake." Don spoke to the others.

The blue bandana stepped around Don and smiled down at her. "Miss, my name is Leo. Are you feeling alright?"

She tried to nod, but that was painful for her neck. With a delicate cough, she prepared her voice to speak. "I think so. Thank you." Her voice was shaky with strain and apprehension.

Don cleared his throat slightly. "I put a bandage on your neck after it stopped bleeding. It should be fine and I doubt it will scar as long as you take care of it, miss."

"Kait." She said bravely. Don, Leo and the other two nodded slightly.

The red bandana stepped slightly away from the wall. "They aren't gonna leave her alone, Leo. They're gettin' desperate. After Em," his voice broke almost imperceptibly. "They've been tryin' to get any advantage they can. They know we'll try 'n protect her."

Leo's head sunk slightly. "Raph, I have to say that you're right." With a deep breath, he turned to look down at Kait. "Those men that tried to use you to protect against us, they are a clan of ninjas called the Foot. We have been fighting them for as long as we can remember. Lately, they've been trying to hit us closer to home. Because they might try to use you against us, at least for the mean time, one of us will be nearby every night. This is for your own protection, Kait."

In any other situation, she wouldn't have believed a word he was saying. But because it came out of a giant turtle's mouth, she decided he was probably telling the truth. "I understand." Her eyes travelled around the four turtle men standing in her room. She was apprehensive, but deep down she knew if they had wanted to hurt her, they had plenty of opportunities to, and they hadn't done anything to even try and hurt or scare her.

Leo nodded and started walking towards the window Don had brought her inside through. The Raph and the orange bandana, who Kait assumed was Mikey, followed. Don looked down at Kait with a mask of nervousness over his face. "Kait, as you can tell, we don't quite fit in around here. And we're trying to keep ourselves off the human radar. I know you don't really have a reason to trust us, but we are putting our trust in you to not tell anyone about us. Please."

Kait worked up a small smile for her savior. "Of course. I doubt anyone would believe me anyways. They'd probably think I was using too much turpentine."

Don scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion as he too left her apartment through the window, sliding it shut behind him.

In her now empty room in her empty apartment, the gravity of what happened finally hit Kait and she began to cry quietly.

**AN: Welcome back to the twisting, turning, gut wrenching, heartfelt story of the Hamato family! Since this is the sequel to Underdog, and since the vote during that story wanted to keep Emily, she is still in this story. Some of you may just be a little mad at me about how she's in it…..**

**In the meantime, comments are appreciated so I can make this story better.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-CM**


	2. Chapter 2

The steady beeping of the alarm clock pulled Kait from her sleep. Her eyelashes, sticky with salt from her tears, blurred her vision as she opened her eyes to her sunlight filled room. It was seven in the morning on the first morning of October. Today was Monday, and Kait had to go into the gallery. She and three other local artists shared a gallery, splitting the rent and the notoriety, helping them all prosper.

Dressed in a plum sweater-dress and white thermal tights, her leather boots pulled up almost to her knees, Kait grabbed her bag and walked out her apartment door. In the crisp wind, she shuddered slightly waiting for a taxi. The shudder wasn't just because of the chill. It was also because she was out in the open. Out in the open after whatever exactly had happened the night before.

In the yellow cab, she thought about the people that had stormed onto her roof, had held a knife to her throat. At the same time, she thought about the brothers, the mutated turtles that saved her, for no reason other than it was the right thing to do.

Absentmindedly, she touched the bandage Don had put on her neck that was hidden beneath the high collar of the dress. Out of the cab, onto the bustling sidewalk, and into the small gallery. The huge windows in the front and back cast bright natural light onto the paintings, photographs, and sculptures of four of the city's artist. Kait gave her trademark smile to Milo, the other painter, as she dropped her bag behind her desk. Each of the four artists kept a small desk full of paper work for their sales, their client lists, sketchbooks, and notes for future projects.

Milo, a modern impressionist painter, walked over to her desk, his chocolate hair bouncing around his face, with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. "Good morning, Kait." He smiled, the chip in his front tooth showing. A hard adolescence still showed itself on his person, but not on his personality.

Kait gave her smile back, accepting the mug greedily. "You always know exactly what I want, Milo."

He sat on the edge of her desk, watching her drink the coffee for a few moments, judging if he had added the proper amount of cream, sugar, and cocoa powder. "What happened last night?" he asked quietly.

She was instantly thankful they were alone in the gallery. With a deep breath, she let her eyes fall on Milo's green ones. "I was painting on my roof last night when…" She was interrupted by the slight creak of the door as Joey walked in. Joey was the sculptor of the group, known for his minimalistic and useful art. "I'll tell you after work, Milo." She murmured quickly. She liked and trusted all three of her "coworkers," but Milo was different for her. They had been friends since college and had stayed just as close since then.

With a nod, he walked back to his desk a few feet from hers and waited for the customers to come. After Anabeth, an urban photographer and the fourth of the artists arrived just before 9 o' clock, the customers began to stream in. Some were the stereotypical patrons of the art, some were just curious, some were brought in by good words of the art, and some thought they were going to see a piece of New York culture. Many that did not know the artists or those who had not been there before would pull aside one of the artists and ask why they shared a gallery with three other artists, citing that, surely, it must detract from their business. Whoever they had asked would usually laugh and explain quite simply that they were not competition to each other. No one who likes photorealistic paintings, Kait's specialty, would be drawn aside by Joey's sculptures. This was true for the other artists as well. In fact, it helps business because those who were satisfied with what they find recommend the artist to those who may or may not agree with their tastes. Thus, if a person comes in on a recommendation to Anabeth's photography but in fact is drawn to Milo's loose brush strokes, the gallery has done its job. The coalition of artists helps each other gain.

A few hours after the doors had opened, during the lunch time lull, the door swung open and a thin, beautiful red headed woman walked into the gallery, her hazel eyes scanning the room quickly. Her eyes lighted on Kait quickly and her graceful legs brought her over to her nearly as quickly.

"Hi, my name is April O'Neal. I was recommended to come by to see your work." Kait smiled her polite, business smile.

"Oh? Who recommended you?" Kait quickly rifled through her notebook of past clients, waiting for her to give a name.

April gave her a small giggle. "He won't be in that list of yours. He saw some of your work last night." Her voice had dropped to a whisper.

Kait paled more than she already was, her hand automatically coming up to her neck. "The brothers?" she whispered back.

April nodded slightly. "My fiancé and I are friends of the Hamoto family. Don told me about the piece he saw last night and told me your name. He saw it on a certificate on your wall. So I decided to stop by and see it for myself." Her eyes glided over the painting as well of Kait's slight body. With a small chuckle, her lips pulled up a little at the corners. "Raph was right. You're so different than her, but you both have something in common. But I can't quite put my finger on it either." Her eyes were clouded with sadness, but her mouth kept smiling.

"Different than who?" Kait asked quietly. She vaguely remembered the brothers talking about another girl when they had brought her into her apartment.

April focused her eyes on a painting over Kait's shoulder, her eyes and lips tightening a bit with emotion. "Emily."

"Who's…"

"You'll have to wait for Raph to tell you that." April cut in, her eyes returning to Kait's. "He's very protective of her. Even now, even after they know, even after what they did to her. I guess it's just a habit he doesn't want to break without her."

Kait nodded slightly. "Will I ever get to see them again?" she asked quietly.

April took her turn to nod, a kind smile on her face. "For at least the next month or so, one of them will be on your roof every night. They're there to protect you from the people you met last night, but I'm sure they'd be willing to talk. And just so you know, they have a weakness for pizza. So if you want to get on their good sides fast, have a slice or two waiting for them when they get there." She took one last look around the gallery before she walked back out the glass doors, her kitten heels clicking ever so slightly on the hardwood floors.

The rest of Kait's day was a blur. Her mind constantly looped over and over the idea of talking to one of them. Of getting to sit down with one of them, one on one, with Raph, or Leo, or Mikey, or Don. Milo had to leave early to take his dog to the vet, but he promised to take Kait out to lunch the next day to hear her story.

She flagged down a taxi as the sun began to sink below the first of the skyscrapers, robotically getting in and giving the driver her address. Just as mechanically, she climbed the flights of stairs to her fifth floor apartment.

Sitting patiently at the door with her feather duster tail swishing slowly across the hardwood floor was Cujo. The Saint Bernard colored Ragamuffin looked up at Kait with her huge green eyes and her top incisors hanging out over his bottom lift, making her look like a little trick-or-treater that had arrived early for Halloween. Kait smiled down at her faithful cat while she kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse on the end table. Her clothes became dark jeans a teal thermal long-sleeve shirt while she laced up her paint covered sneakers.

Cujo followed her obediently, waiting for her nightly treat before dinner. Soon, enough, as Kait knotted her hair into a messy bun, she sliced off a piece off of a tuna steak from the refrigerator, letting Cujo jump to catch it between her teeth. The overgrown fur ball happily padded over to her chair by the window while Kait began to hunt for her dinner.

She opened mesh front cabinets and the painted refrigerator. On one of the lighted plastic shelves, she saw a preformed pizza crust and instantly remembered April's comment about the brothers enjoying pizza. After further searching, she found sauce and shredded cheese, but no meat. She just hoped whichever brother came to watch her didn't mind cheese pizza.

With Cujo's bowl full of cat food and the pizza in the oven, Kait gathered her art supplies for a new painting. While the paints and easel were outside, the brushes and canvas were tucked under the bed. She opened the window to a crisp evening breeze and grabbed her down coat off of Cujo's chair before climbing out onto her roof in to the sunset. Cujo followed, laying herself out on the warm vent for the heating unit.

She sat on pins and needles while she worked, waiting for the slightest rustle of the approaching brother, much like she had heard before the Foot clambered onto her roof. But she heard no sound before the gravely chuckle behind her, making her jump off her stool.

"Yer just askin' for them to get a hold of ya, aren't ya?" The deep voice and thick accent were enough for Kait to know it was Raph.

Her first thought was Emily, the mysterious woman under Raph's domain. "Maybe, or maybe I just know one of you would be here."

With a heavy sigh, Raph leaned against the low wall of the roof. "Ya paint?" he asked politely, his caramel eyes trained on her canvas. She nodded. "I bet April will like ya, then. She likes all that stuff."

"She did seem to enjoy the gallery when she stopped by this afternoon. What about you?" Kait tried not to let her curiosity and excitement into her voice.

Raph shrugged loosely, pushing off the wall and sauntering over beside her. They sunk into a mostly comfortable silence as he watched her work and she watched the twilight sky fade to night as she also watched Raph in her peripheral. He was different than the others, she could see that much. He stood rigidly with his face set in grim, sad lines. He would be the perfect subject for a tragic painting or sculpture. Kait couldn't shake the feeling that the mysterious Emily had something to do it.

She couldn't contain her curiosity any more. "Who's Emily?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

His face closed and his caramel eyes hardened over. "What have the others told ya?" he asked darkly, his hands tightening into fists.

"Nothing other than that if I wanted to know anything, I would have to ask you." Kait's voice dropped into an ashamed murmur.

He nodded slowly, shutting his eyes tightly. "And I'm not ready to tell ya who she is. She's mine, and that's all ya need to know."

**And I'm back!**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, even though it's mostly just fluff….**

**As always, reviews and suggestions are appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**CM**


	3. Chapter 3

Raphael walked quickly down the sewer, his heart beating in a quick march in his chest. He nearly ran back to the lair, his stomach doing flips in anticipation and worry. He had been gone too long. He left for Kait's apartment at 4:30 and was now returning at 1:00. Far too long. He threw open the door and marched up the stairs, eyeing the door on the other side of the floor. Quickly, he opened the door with a silent prayer on his lips and hope in his heart.

_Beep…beep…beep…beep…_

"No change, Raph." Don sighed, standing from the chair by the bed.

Raph's heart and hopes plummeted, returning him to his cold, dark mood that he had been locked in for two months. "I'm not wathcin' her anymore. I'm gone too long. Either Mikey or ya can go from now on." He sat down heavily in the chair previously occupied by Don.

With a silent nod, Don left his brother alone.

She hadn't moved in two months. Her face was still in the soft, innocent sleep-like expression. Raph kept her hair brushed and her skin clean with a warm sponge. Her skin had finally lost her tan. She was thin under the blanket, her muscles beginning to atrophy. A thin IV needle was taped to her hand and an oxygen tube was taped under her nose. Her chest rose and fell steadily, but her eyes never opened. Raph had not seen blue eyes in two months.

"I'm back, babe." He murmured quietly, running a finger down her cheek. The skin was soft but cold. "Sorry I was gone so long. There's a woman we're protectin' now. I won't volunteer to watch her anymore. I don't wanna be away form ya that long." His fingers wrapped around hers and squeezed gently. "I miss ya, Em." He whispered, reaching up to gently run his fingers through her hair. "Please come back, Em. I need ya." He voice cracked like it did almost every time he talked to her.

Gently, he retied the little bit of twine around her finger before picking up the newspaper off the night stand. April used to give Emily her newspapers and now she left them for Raph to read to her, along with some of Emily's favorite books that she had brought with her from home.

Halfway through the sports section, there was a cautious knock at the door. "Her dad's here." Mikey tentatively spoke through the door. Silently, Raph stood from the chair and opened the door to let Richard Fredricks slowly trudge into the room. Sober for two months, his cheeks and eyes no longer flushed red and his hygiene had improved greatly since Raph first met him. The day after Emily had fallen into her coma, Leo, Raph, April, and Casey brought her father into the fold. He fought the truth at first, but came to accept his daughter's live as he progressively gave up his evil draught.

"Don told me there wasn't any change again." He murmured tiredly. Since his sobriety, he began taking up part time jobs, often at odd and late hours.

Raph nodded, returning to fiddling with her hair.

"Raph, I was thinkin' 'bout Em and ya and I wanted ta know yer plans. I mean, I know she's got that bow on her finger, but what now? You can't go walkin' up to no Justice of the Peace for no marriage license, now can ya?" Richard was trying to be kind, but Raph was the one thing he still couldn't swallow.

Raph inwardly winced, but didn't let it show to Richard. "We do what she wants. I will follow her every command. If she wants me topside wit' her, I'll go in a heartbeat. If she wants ta stay down here, we'd love it. If she wants ta leave me, or this place, I won't stop her. She's got complete control over me and I won't do a thing to go against her." He couldn't take his eyes off his Emily as he spoke.

"That's a whole lotta commitment, son." Richard grumbled.

"She deserves so much more." Raph whispered to himself, but Richard heard him all the same as he slumped back against the wall, watching the thing that loved his daughter.

**AN: I'm back!**

**I know this is short, but I felt like you guys wanted some questions answered, so here are the answers. **

**Another chapter should be coming soon, and it will be back to Kait. I just wanted to tie up some loose ends. **

**As always, feedback is cherished and very helpful. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	4. Chapter 4

Milo sat opposite her at their favorite restaurant, patiently waiting for her to start talking. His brown hair managed to look tastefully windswept despite the lack of air moving inside or outside of the small Italian café, his clothes the picture of ordered chaos while his eyes watched her calmly, shining more green than blue under the warm lights of the flame lantern above them. His espresso was steaming in front of him and his ciabatta sandwich was poised in his long thin fingers a few inches off the hand-painted plate. He looked like he had frozen for one of his own paintings, a relaxed scene between two friends, maybe siblings, maybe lovers; any insinuation he could make by the simple colors he chose to paint his canvas with.

Except if he wanted to make it relaxed, he would have had to completely repaint Kait from imagination. Her legs twitched and bounced, her high heeled pumps tapping ever so quietly on the hardwood floor. Her eyes refused to meet his, darting all over the area around them, not hovering on any one object for more than one sentence. Her right hand quickly, haltingly, nervously curled a few loose strands of her hair around her fingers, undoing the careful curls she had seared into them that morning, while her left hand stirred her soup with the decorative spoon.

"Kait," Milo murmured gently, his voice as soothing as ever. "We came here so you could talk to me about what happened. Was it that bad that you don't even wanna talk to me about it?"

Kait quickly shook her head, dissuading him from his worst thoughts. "I just don't know how to put it into words. I have people that trust me to keep things under wraps."

"People who trust you to keep things under wraps?" Milo chuckled, but she knew he was half serious. "I know your great, great grandfather was mafia, but I thought your family got out of that after him." His eyes sparkled a little, coaxing her to open up with his unwavering charm.

"No, Milo." Kait couldn't help but giggle. "There's a few people out there that are acting kind of like vigilantes. Like that Nightwatcher fellow that came around a few years ago. But they're a group, organized. Most of them are actually a family. They…"

"But how exactly did you fall in with them?" Milo asked quietly, solemnly, darkly.

For an instant, Kait was reminded of Raph's steely gaze after she had asked about Emily. That same glare was on his face for the entire rest of the night as neither spoke to the other. "Because they saved me from a small group of organized crime members. I was painting on my roof like I always do and on come these horrible men and they use me as a shield almost against the others, the good guys." Kait pulled down the collar of her turtle necked blouse. "They did this to me, and one of the brothers patched it up."

Milo only shook his head. "I trust you, Kait, but this sounds crazy. I just want you to be safe, and this does not sound safe."

"But one of them watches me at night." Kait pleaded, seeking in some respects his approval. "One of them stayed out on the roof with me last night and another will come tonight, until they feel like I'm safe." Kait's eyes finally locked with his, finally convinced that something good could come from this conversation, Milo's unwitting acceptance of the brothers.

With a sigh, he finally bit into his sandwich, losing a tomato to gravity. After he had chewed for a few seconds, he looked back up at Kait's puppy dog pout. "This sounds as crazy as the giant turtles in the hospital last month." He jumbled through his sandwich.

"What?" Kait forced her voice to stay light, unaffected. Milo had a habit of reading the bogus newspapers for giggles, which was surely where he heard the story. But she knew that it might not have been all sci-fi dreamings of a bored journalist.

"Yeah." He finally swallowed the bite. "Last month a janitor swears he saw some giant turtle-human things at Bellevue a little after midnight, coming out of some woman's room."

"Do you remember the name?" Kait asked mildly. She knew her question wouldn't raise suspicions. She often played along with Milo's science fiction whims.

He nodded as he chewed his second large bite of the sandwich, a bit of dressing joining the tomato on the plate. "Fred-something-or-other."

"That's not much of a name, Milo." Kait smiled, watching him scarf down another bite as she sipped on her soup.

Thankfully, their conversation turned away from the brothers, and towards more benign topics like Milo's dog and Kait's cat, unlikely friends, who seemed to be missing each other. It had been almost a month since they had had a play date. The twelve pound cat was fond of curling up on the couch with Gracie, Milo's giant Great Dane, weighing in at over one hundred and fifty pounds. True to her breed, Cujo was affectionate to an extreme, bestowing it upon the sleek hair dog in the form of naps, cat baths, and massaging her ribs while she walked along her side.

Soon enough, the food had been finished and the bill had been paid, meaning it was time to return to the gallery. While Milo was sad that he had to leave the alone-time with his friend, Kait was excited. On her desk was a laptop, with internet, with access to the oracle known as Google.

Milo had given her part of a last name, and she could pair it with a first name.

_Emily Fred_ Kait typed into the search bar before she hit enter.

The first result was a Wikipedia page for Emily Maria Fredricks, a kick-boxer born and raised in New York City, Manhattan specifically.

As she skimmed the article, certain things jumped out at her.

Mother, dead. Father, never mentioned. No siblings. No relationships.

Undefeated. Unstoppable. Fierce. Strong. Loyal.

Then she saw the picture at the bottom of the page, taken after her last fight. Her pencil straight black-brown hair hit the tops of her shoulders. Her skin was a slightly tan, marred by errant scars a few freckles. Her eyes, however, were a bright blue. Fierce, yet calm. Sharp, yet kind. Highly inquisitive.

April's comment suddenly made sense. Several friends of Kait had said the same of her own hazel eyes. April's comment about their similarity hadn't been anything in personality or appearance. It had been the emotion in their eyes. Ignoring the color difference, they were a mirror of each other.

Right there and then, Kait knew this was her. This was the Emily. Raph's Emily.

The article she had pulled up had a link to a news report. _New York Kick-Boxer Caught in City Violence. _Emily was in the hospital, Bellevue, after being shot in the chest. After a few weeks, she apparently recovered because she was checked out and returned home. But she released a statement to the press that because of the injury, she would not be able to continue professionally fighting. The article had been written a week after this statement was released, and apparently she hadn't been seen in public since her admittance to the hospital, despite several attempts at being located by the police or the press to ask about the injury. The journalist when on to insinuate that it could be related to a 1990s era organized crime group, a gang based around Japanese culture and fighting skills, notorious for gaining recruits from the younger end of the population, the Foot. Emily's close friend, Austin Park, had been allegedly killed by the Foot after beating one of their legitimate fighters. Emily had also beaten one of their fighters a few years later, just shy of seven months before the shooting, and just shy of 9 months ago.

Kait closed the laptop with a deep breath. She doubted that Emily had been fine after a few weeks, fine enough to check out. She had probably been taken out of the hospital to be protected, most likely by the same people protecting her. It was also safe for her to assume that Emily had been involved with one of her protectors, one of Kait's protectors. And judging by everyone's reaction, especially Raph's, it was him.

As she stared off into the sky beyond the windows, she thought of the implications of that revelation. A human woman, like her, was involved with one of them, one of the brothers. She did respect them, see them as living beings that deserved kindness and compassion, but to be romantically involved with one of them…it didn't made sense to her.

"Earth to Kaitlynn." Milo murmured from directly behind her.

The skip in Kait's heart took a moment to recover from before she could speak. "Yeah, sorry, Milo. Just tired. Was up late painting last night. Didn't get much sleep."

Milo nodded, wrapping his scarf around his neck before holding out Kait's coat. "Well, time to close up shop." He murmured quietly. "Be safe till I've got you back in my line of sight. Deal?"

"Deal." She smiled, giving him a friendly peck on the cheek before walking out with him to hail two cabs.

She continued her nightly ritual as usual, opting for Chinese delivery instead of pizza. Cujo was feeling lazy that night and curled up on the bed after she had scarfed down her dinner. As Kait looked out the window, she saw the storm clouds rolling in. Checking the clock, she knew the brother sent to watch her that night, which she knew was not going to Raph, wasn't there yet. She couldn't paint tonight because of the storm, so she decided to stay in for the night, and invite the brother in with her.

She took a quick, hot shower, dressing in lounge pants and a fleece hoodie, her feet in dark slippers. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun and her face was bare of makeup. Just as five o' clock rolled around, the skies opened up, dropping a downpour onto her roof.

Quickly, she opened the large window, standing under the eaves. "I know you're out there. You can come in. I'm not gonna paint today." Patiently, she looked out into the dark rain, waiting. Sure enough, a shape swung down from the roof above her. Despite expecting it, she was startled a bit.

Out of the shadows walked Don, his skin covered in water as he shivered slightly. "Thanks for saying I could come in. I may be a turtle, but that doesn't mean I like being out in the rain. Especially this time of the year. It's too cold." His smile was kind and genuine as he followed her in through the picture window.

Just as Kait closed the window latch, the door bell rang. The look on Don's face was priceless as he looked for someplace to hide.

"It's dinner. Relax. Stay here." Kait held out her thin hand before grabbing the money off her counter and going to the door. Exchanging the money for the food, she returned to main room of her apartment, dropping the bag onto her counter. She looked at Don, standing awkwardly on her rug, dripping and shivering. "You're soaked. Let me get you a towel and I'll make you some coffee to warm up." As she walked into the bathroom, she had a second thought. Hesitantly, she stuck her head back out the door. "For one, do you like Chinese, two, do you like coffee?"

Don nodded, gently rubbing his biceps as he tried to warm himself up. Being coldblooded, he needed to find a source of heat to make up for his drop in body temperature. He watched Kait walk quickly back out of the bathroom carrying a large, plush towel. He gratefully accepted it and wrapped it around him. He continued to watch her as she started up a single serve coffee machine.

"Help yourself to the food." Kait called over her shoulder, trying to fish a mug out of the top shelf.

Quietly, Don came up behind her and reached it for her, gently setting it on the counter in front of her. Kait, startled for the second time, turned around to look at him. He was close to her now, a few inches away, and she finally noticed their height difference, a good ten inches or so, and the details in his face. He did look similar to Raph, who was supposedly his brother, but they also had a few differences. Don had a lighter skin down and what looked like freckles. His eyes were also a darker brown with less defined ridges above them.

"Thanks." She murmured, putting it under the machine and letting it start. Don nodded and opened the bag, pulling out the boxes of Chinese food.

"You know, as a Japanese-American, I should be offended that you assumed I would like Chinese food, but somehow, with this food staring me in the face, I don't mind." His chocolate eyes devoured the rice, noodles, vegetables, and meats in the white boxes as he grabbed a set of chopsticks.

Kait grabbed her share; Don thankfully left her a few of her favorite dishes, and sat down on her couch, motioning to the seat next to her and to the armchair by the lit fireplace, the chair that Don gratefully took. The warmth from the fire would be like a retile sunning itself below a heat lamp, allowing don to warm back up.

After several minutes of comfortable silence, the food was gone and Kait had refilled their coffee cups a few times. Looking over at Don, she suddenly remembered her revelation about Emily and Raph. "Hey, Don, can I ask you a question?"

He nodded, looking over at her as she was curled up on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her.

"Do you have a girlfriend, like Raph?" she asked as conversationally as she could.

The shock was evident on his face, as Kait was able to read a few emotions on his face already. "How did you know about Emily?" he asked curiously, watching her as intently as she was watching him.

"She's dating your brother, right?" Kait pushed gently.

Don shrugged a little, settling in the plush cushions. "If you want to get technical, they're engaged."

"Engaged?!" She couldn't contain the gasp and the widened eyes.

He nodded. "Raph proposed just before the incident, which I assume you know about as well." A nod from Kait. "I'm going to assume you pieced this together from that one tabloid story." Another nod. "Well, no, I don't have a girlfriend. Or a fiancé, for that matter. Raph is the only one of us that has managed to integrate that well. Then again, the only other women that have stumbled into our lives have been April, now engaged to our very much human friend Casey, and you. Not much of a chance for the other three of us to kindle romances." He gave her a week smile.

"So, I don't think she got better in two weeks after getting shot in the chest."

"No, she's been in a coma for the past two months. We moved her from the hospital to our new home."

Kait suddenly understood Raph's aggression and protectiveness over Emily. He had proposed to her two months ago, the night before she was shot, and she hasn't woken up since.

Their conversation continued to Don's medical and scientific skills, the skills of the other brothers, and their past run ins with the Foot, the ones responsible for the attack on Emily as well as Kait, as he revealed. After hours of talking, Don saw Kait's eyelids growing heavy and checked the clock. It was late, and he knew she had work the next morning.

"Kait, you should get some sleep." He told her gently, taking the mug form her hands and putting it in the sink with his.

She defiantly shook her head, clinging to the threads of daily consciousness.

With a chuckle, he turned off the lights in the kitchen alcove of her apartment. "Kait." His voice was just a murmuring rumble. "Kait, come on. Go get some sleep."

"But it's still raining outside." Kait's voice was just a jumble of syllables as she stretched on the couch, her head coming to rest on the arm.

He chuckled a little, squatting down in front of her. "I'll make you a deal. You go to bed and I'll stay until the rain stops."

"Deal." Kait sighed as she let her eyes close right there on the couch, not caring that a giant turtle-man was sitting right in front of her, watching her sleep.

**AN: I'm back!**

**I feel so successful, putting up chapters so fast…. I can't guarantee it'll stay like this, though. Busy life and all that jazz.**

**Well, I'm doing my best to tie the two stories together. And now you know what happened, mostly. **

**As always, reviews and suggestions appreciated. **

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	5. Chapter 5

Kait was pulled out of her sleep by an incessant beeping sound. As her eyes lazily blinked open, she was flooded by the blinding morning light. "Don, can you turn that off?" she grumbled, her voice just a jumble of syllables.

No answer. She tried to stand from the couch, but her legs were tangled up in something. That something was her jersey sheets on her bed. But she was positive she had fallen asleep on her sheet-less couch. She swung her hand out and found the alarm clock like she would every other weekday. She smacked it and the beeping stopped.

Don…

He must have carried her into bed, much like the other night, and tucked her in. Most likely before leaving in the pouring rain.

Bleary eyed and tired, she disentangled herself from the sheets and trudged into the bathroom. As she washed her face in the sink in an attempt to drag herself from the cobwebs of sleep, she saw a neon sticky-note attached to the mirror.

_**Good morning, sleepy head.  
I'll be back tonight, but if you need one of us desperately, 212-555-4670.  
-Don  
P.S. I didn't leave till it stopped raining, promise.**_

Kait smiled as she grabbed the sheet, looking at Don's clean and calculated handwriting, almost like a computer font. Quickly, she started getting ready. Wide leg, high waisted trousers; replicated from a 1940s era pattern. A soft—and most importantly, high necked—sweater was tucked under it. A pair of nude pumps was fished out from under the bed, where she had kicked them the night before.

1940s eyeliner, lipstick, and up-do later and she was out the door with her bag swung over one shoulder and her keys jingling loudly in one hand.

At the exit to the building, she stepped to the curb, waiting for a taxi to get close enough for her to flag over.

"Kait Daws?" A husky voice called from a few feet away.

Quickly, she turned to look, a little startled. A tall, thin man with shaggy black hair and brown eyes was slowly, cautiously approaching her. He had a lopsided, kind smile painted across his square jaw. "Yes." She responded cautiously. Lots of people recognized her from gallery openings and interviews, but she was being extremely cautious of late. "And you would be?"

"Casey Jones." He extended a large, calloused hand to her. "April sent me to see if you wanted a ride, and to introduce myself." Kait met his hand tentatively. "Because of the guys, uh, condition, you'll see either April or I during the day. Figured it'd help if you knew who you were supposed to know."

"You're April's fiancé, aren't you?" Kait smiled up at him, the clues finally clicking into place.

He nodded with a smirk, holding out his cell phone. The background image was a sweet shot of them together.

Kait suddenly remembered that she did in fact own a cell phone and she should probably look at it for Milo's sake. Sure enough, there was a text message.

_**electric gis came 2da. closed. c ya tmro**_

With a heavy sigh, she threw the phone back into her bag. "As much as I appreciate your offer of a drive, turns out the gallery is closed today." She hoped her look was as apologetic as she felt.

Casey nodded, chewing slightly on the inside of his cheek. "Well," he quickly checked the time on his phone. "The guys should be awake." He looked almost hesitantly up at Kait, as if he was about to make a call that wasn't really his to make. "Honestly, I think you deserve to know the people watchin' your back. I'll take you to the guy's place if you want. That way you can meet them all at the same time, for real this time."

"What are you suggesting, Mr. Jones?" Kait asked a little shyly.

His smirk was quick but large. "Casey, please. And I'm talkin' about bringing you by the lair, where the brothers live with their father, Master Splinter. You haven't even met him yet." He started leading Kait towards his pick-up.

"But I don't want to intrude on…"

"Don't worry about it, doll face. You're one of us now. Besides, Splinter would love to meet you and I bet Don will love to see you." He chuckled slyly as he opened the door for Kait, shutting it after she hopped into the cab.

"Are you sure?" Kait asked quietly after Casey had joined her inside.

He nodded as he put the truck in gear and turned into the street. After several quiet, tense minutes, Casey parked the truck in front of another apartment complex, a little more modern than Kait's but still built up and urbane. Casey hopped out of the parked truck and started towards the alley next to the building. "Come on, doll." Casey called back to the truck.

Kait hopped out as well, grabbing her messenger bag and walking quickly after Casey. "Why did we come here?" she asked curiously, looking around her.

Casey shrugged, pointing to a fire landing a few floors up. "That's April's and my apartment. It's easiest for me to get to the guys' place from here."

She nodded and followed him as he walked a few more feet down the alley. After he looked around suspiciously, and finding the alley and streets sufficiently clear, he hoisted up the manhole in the middle of the alley. Ostentatiously, he waved his hands towards the opening in the street.

"They live in _there_?!" Kait exclaimed quietly, her hands tightening on the strap of her bag.

Casey nodded, sliding his feet into the hole as he sat on the street. "Yeah, kinda. But it's not that bad. These are storm drains, really. Just lots of water and leaves." He hopped down into the hole and Kait heard the muffled thud. "Trust me." He called out from the black.

Kait slid her feet over the edge, just like Casey had done, before she as well slid down. Strong arms caught her around the waist before she hit the ground, easing her down.

"I swear you're as light as the other one." Casey mumbled as he fished out his keychain, a small flashlight coming to life in his hands.

"Emily, right?" Kait asked curiously. Sure, Don had told her a bit about the other woman, but she still didn't really understand how Emily had fallen in with the brothers.

Casey stopped short as he nodded. "Don told me that you found out. Now, Raph will not be so understanding that you found out. I don't suggest bringing her up while you're there. I don't want Raph to go off on you. I kinda want the guys to keep you around. We need some diversity in the group. With Em how she is, we are missin' some of the character we got used to enjoying."

She nodded courteously as she followed Casey. Much to her surprise, it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought. Like Casey had claimed, it was mostly water and leaves. Even in four and a half inch heels, the large cobblestone floor of the tunnels was smooth and easy to walk on. After walking for about twenty minutes, Casey arrived at a large steel door. Knocking on it loudly, he turned to Kait as they waited. "This used to be an outsourcing office back when the sewer system was first built. Plenty of room for all the brothers, their father, room for training, they even have a room for Em and a spare room. Pretty good place to live for these guys."

Just as he finished, the door was opened. Mikey was behind it, a cautious smile on his face. "Hey, Casey." He gave the man a high-five. "And hello, Kait. Welcome to the lair." He was nervously rambling now. "Sorry it's such a mess. We didn't expect anybody coming over that wasn't used to it and…"

"Mikey, it's ok." Kait reassured, reaching out to gently touch his arm. She relied on Don's summary of his family to know which one was which. She also relied on an inner strength she rarely ever found to keep her from curling in on herself in shyness. "I lived with a guy throughout graduate school. I understand the mess completely." She saw Mikey and Casey give her odd looks as she walked in. Immediately in front of her was a small living space. Several older and worn out couches faced a mosaic of televisions. Behind that was a raised dining room and kitchen. A small hallway reached to the left and another small hallway reached to the right. Beside the televisions was a staircase leading up to another level with a railed walkway leading to several doors all around the space.

Upon hearing the voices from the main room, Don walked out of the hallway from the right, goggles over his eyes. "Kait!" his voice hitched up nearly half an octave as he quickly pulled the goggles off his face, attempting to hide them behind him. "What, what are you doing here?" he asked as he strode quickly across the room towards the three others.

"I thought she'd like to see you guys in your natural habitat." Casey joked as he started walking towards the short hallway to the left.

"He's upstairs." Don mumbled quietly once he reached the others. Casey changed his course towards the stairs. Don looked from the man to the woman with a shy smile. "If we'd known you were coming we would have cleaned up a little. We just had breakfast and…"

"Don, I lived with Milo for three years. I understand the male living situation." Kait murmured quietly as she smiled up at Don.

He gave her the same odd look that his younger brother and Casey had given her, but nodded all the same. "Do you want to see my lab?" he asked, a childish excitement working into his voice

Kait nodded slightly as she followed close behind Don.

He walked her back down the hallways to the right and into a small-ish room. There was a large array of computers around a swiveling chair in one corner, a whole wall of bookcases, an examining bed, and a desk full of loose papers and electrical equipment. Kait admired it all as Don sat down in the swivel chair.

"Impressive." She murmured quietly as she sat down on the examination bed.

"You should have seen the one at the old place." Don laughed, spinning in his chair. "I had to downsize during the move here. My room's smaller, too." With a sigh, Don stopped spinning. "Oh well. Price we pay to stay safe." Kait nodded silently, her eyes darting every which way. "Kait, are you okay?" Don's voice dipped into the notes of true concern, pulling Kait's gaze to him.

She nodded and shrugged simultaneously, confusing Don. "This was all Casey's idea. And he's thrown me headfirst into a very startling situation." She too sighed, but she began to fidget. "I don't do so well with people." She mumbled, one hand reaching to play with the clasp of her bag.

Don took his turn to nod, standing from his chair and sitting next to her on the bed. "Well, that works out great for us because we aren't exactly people." He smiled down at her as Kait smiled slightly up at him. "Come on." He murmured quietly, hopping off the bed. "Come meet my father." He gently guided Kait by her elbow farther down the hallway to the room at the end.

Warm candle light filled the spacious room. A bamboo mat covered the floor that was not part of the raised border that made up about three feet on all sides of the room. In one corner, a rack of swords. In another, shelves full of helmets and trophies. In another, a bedroll. Against the back wall, a low table with floor cushions. Behind the table, an overgrown rat in brown robes, his head leaned over the table.

"Master, I brought Kait here to see you." Don called out to the rat with a clear yet respectful voice.

The rat looked up at the two with wise old brown eyes and a chunk missing out of one of his ears. The brown fur on his face was beginning to turn to grey in a few places. "Good morning, child." His thick accent allowed Kait to understand Don's joke about being Japanese-American the night before. If this Japanese rat was Don's father, then the profile certainly fit. "Come, sit. Let me have a look at you."

Don gently guided Kait to one of the floor cushions on the other side of the table from Splinter. "So you're the boys' father?" Kait asked kindly.

He nodded, motioning to Don. "Donatello is the third of my sons."

"Donatello?" she laughed to herself, her eyes flashing up to Don, who was blushing a little with embarrassment.

He and Splinter nodded together. "Leonardo hatched first, and then Raphael, Donatello, and finally Michelangelo." Splinter smiled at his son.

"The renaissance artists." Kait smiled almost fully. "I loved them in school. I used to try to paint like Raphael, but I could never get the shadows right." Like Mikey, nerves caused her to ramble slightly.

"Kait is an artist." Don added in for her, looking to his father for his reaction.

Splinter nodded, a slight smile on his long face. "We attract the strangest mix of people, don't we?" He joked kindly to the two. "First, a reporter, then a fighter, and now, an artist. It certainly makes our family all the better to include such people."

"Thank you." Kait murmured quietly with a shy smile.

Splinter nodded again. "Our home is yours, child. If you ever feel unsafe in your home or desire companionship, our door is open." He nodded to Don that his paternal obligations had been completed and Don could take Kait to other places in the lair.

He showed her the dojo, with its bamboo mats, punching bags, and weapons. He even took her upstairs and pointed out which room belonged to which person, including the bathroom. As they were about to head back down the stairs, Don saw Kait's eyes lingering on Emily's door.

"Raph's in there with her." Don murmured quietly, a three-fingered hand gently pressed against the small of her back. "Otherwise, I'd let you meet her. She was an amazing young woman. I think you two will get along once she wakes up."

Kait looked back at him with a small smile. "You guys are so open, you know that?" she relented and allowed Don to guide her down the stairs.

Don chuckled slightly. "We didn't used to be. Em opened our eyes. And we're going out on a limb with you."

When they reached the foot of the stairs, the kitchen had a new addition, Leo. Sweating, he stood in front of the sink, filling a tea kettle. Having heard his brother's chuckle, he looked over his shoulder, a cautious smile on his face. "Good morning, Kait." He called across the room.

"Good morning, Leo." Kait called back, also smiling slightly.

She could sense the tense atmosphere caused by her unexpected presence. Kait was an unnaturally shy person when she was out of her element. And there, in the lair under the city, she was miles away from her element. The one thing she could do was try to bring some of her element into the alien world.

Sitting on the couch next to Don as he began flipping through channels on the television, she pulled her large sketchbook and a few drawing pencils out of her bag. Trying to be as covert as possible, she looked over a Mikey, who was playing an old arcade game. Making sure not to look too long at him at any one time, she began to sketch his face and upper torso, finding the gentle curves of his face and body pleasing to the eye on paper. She brought her colored pencils out and began adding the barest hints of color, used in her style of sketches as only accents in a piece that relied heavily on black and white values.

Leo was next. Sitting at the table reading a magazine, he was an easy target for her to watch. She had to draw in a smile, but she still remembered his small, lopsided grin from when he had greeted her.

After Leo, it had to be Don because Raph was still upstairs. Don, however, caught her looks.

"Can I help you?" he asked, confused.

Kait could only chuckle nervously, showing him the sketch. Don's eyes widened drastically as he looked at the amazing representation of his brothers and the beginning of the drawing of him, standing next to Mikey on the paper. "You could stay still so I can finish you."

Don smiled slightly and stayed still as a statue as Kait finished the drawing, complete with his freckles.

Raph was tougher. She had really only met him once. Thankfully, he looked very similar to Mikey, so she based the drawing around him and then made the necessary changes.

Splinter was the hardest, fur being her arch enemy throughout her college career as an art major. But stroke by stoke with different weight art pencils, the elderly rat took shape, standing between Don and Mikey.

At this point, Don realized she was sketching them a family portrait. He smile widened to the largest Kait had seen on him yet as he watched her work. Soon enough, it was finished and Kait was proud of her hour and a half sketch.

Don of course, was ecstatic and called out his oldest and younger brother, beckoning them to see the sketch. Mikey was bouncing off the walls, which Kait was started to see was a normal thing. Leo nodded and smiled slightly, appreciating her style and thankful for the gesture. Casey, who had been upstairs with Raph but came down, even liked it, although he refused Kait's offers to be added in. With all the hubbub downstairs, Raph trudged out of Emily's room, confused and slightly annoyed that Kait was there in their living room. But he enjoyed the portrait all the same.

Kait was quiet for most of the time, a plan forming in her head. She understood Emily's place in the family, and she appreciated it. She was turning over in her head any way she could think of to get Don to let her up into Emily's room. She didn't want to sneak up there and betray their trust. The plan finally came to her as Casey asked Raph to spar with him in the dojo.

She knew she only needed a few minutes to enact her plan, but she had no time to waste. Grabbing her paper and pencils in one hand, she grabbed Don's wrist in the other, dragging him up to Emily's room.

"I want to put her in the picture." She whispered, looking up at him with a hopeful pleading.

He nodded, opening the door and holding it open for her and shutting it behind them.

_Beep…beep…beep…beep…_

Kait was shocked at first when she saw Emily on the bed, just laying there. After everything she had heard and read about the woman, she didn't think it would have been possible for her to seem so weak and frail, but here she was, looking just as fragile as Kait. As she began to draw the other woman, she began to feel a pang of self consciousness, Emily appeared years younger than her, and so surely the brothers were as well. Casey and April had looked around her age, but she really had no way of knowing. Kait suddenly felt like the old, helpless bump on the log in a group of young adventurous people with _power_.

After a few minutes, she slipped back out the door with Don and began walking to the stairs.

"Wait." Don murmured, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her to the door he had told her was his.

Opening it and beckoning her in, he began rifling through a few drawers, looking for something. To Kait, his room looked like a smaller version of his lab. Equipment, papers, and books were strewn about the small space, even on the bed. With a smile, Kait reminisced about Milo's room when they shared an apartment to get through grad school.

After a few minutes, Don surfaced from his dresser with a frame nearly the same size as Kait's drawing. He handed it to her as he yet again guided her out with a hand on the small of her back.

With most of the family around her, Kait slid the drawing into the frame. Silently, she propped the frame up on the desk below their message board and stepped back beside Don. With her one action, the brothers were beginning to accept her, and she was beginning to see them not as turtle, but as men.

And the most tortured of these men, Raphael, nearly ran out of the room, tears in eyes.

In the drawing of the six of them, Kait had drawn Emily beside Raph, her arm wrapped around his waist while Raph held her close, her blue eyes bright and her smile wide, completely awake.

**AN: Happy Thanksgiving my darling readers!**

**For the record, I am thankful for all of you, especially the few of you that have been with me since Chapter 1 of Underdog!**

**Well, here's the next chapter. I have officially our two leading ladies together. **

**Don't know when chapter 6 is coming, but I hope it's soon.**

**As always, reviews and suggestions are very much welcome.**

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	6. Chapter 6

Kait found herself unwilling to leave the brothers' home, staying to help Don with his online service job and then staying to watch a movie with the boys. They had a weakness for old action movies, and Kait knew she had a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie on her phone, which Don nimbly connected to the television so they could all watch it, crowded on the two old couches and love seat. Kat managed to squeeze between Don and Mikey's feet—the youngest of the brothers having spread his body across the loveseat and one of the couches—as the seven young adults settled down to watch the movie. A few minutes into it, Kait began to realize she was still in her business clothes as it neared seven o' clock at night. She silently kicked off her heels and began to covertly as possible pull the bobby pins out of her hair, letting tight curls fall around her shoulders.

Just like the drawing, her actions caught Don's attention, who quickly and gently gripped Kait's arms, turning her so her back was facing his plastron. His fingers began to nimbly aid her in pulling out the difficult little clips. "I hope you don't mind." He whispered to her, his breath tickling her ear.

She shook her head as she turned back and settled in to watch the movie.

She didn't know which of them had moved, but she became electrically aware of the side of her arm gently pressing against the side of Don's arm. The coolness of his skin radiated through her thin sweater and goose bumped her skin. She refused to look at Don and Don, equally as affected by their contact, refused to look down at her.

Butterflies began to flutter in Kait's chest as Don shifted his weight, pressing even closer to her. The electricity began to pulse from her arm into her chest as she tried to sit perfectly still, but found herself relaxing against his arm.

Her eyelids began to flutter an hour into the movie, and her head began to droop and loll, finding the top of Don's shoulder comfortable when her head dropped to that side. Don didn't move and at that point, she didn't care if he moved. It seemed like an instant later someone was gently shaking her shoulder.

"Kait," Don's already recognizable voice whispered into her ear. "Dinner's here. Time to wake up."

Kait grumbled and rolled the other direction, finding the other side of the couch empty. The arm of the couch became her new pillow as she tried to ignore Don. Sleep seemed more inviting than food. That was until strong arms picked her up and hefted her off the couch, throwing them over the owner of the arms' shoulder. Kait's eyes flew open as she was bounced towards the kitchen atop Don's shoulder, her legs over his front and her torso against his shell.

"Put me down!"Kait shrieked, flailing in his arms. She only succeeded in shifting herself off of his shoulder and into his arms. "Don!" she screeched, continuing to struggle, despite the obvious fact that her efforts were futile.

By the time Don had deposited her in a kitchen chair, everyone was bawling in laughter, even Raph. With a petulant pout, Kait consented to be handed a paper plate with a slice of pizza on it. Despite the smile that was plastered on her face while she watched Mikey and Casey almost inhale their pizza; she forced it away into a glaring scowl whenever Don looked ever at her.

In her mind, the turtles were beginning transform into men, into a family. She saw the dynamics, she could _feel _the dynamics. And she liked it. These were people she would like spending time with. She just now had to face the dichotomy in her mind. She understood them as men, as people, but her eyes betrayed their truth. At this point, at least, she couldn't reconcile them with each other.

It was eight o'clock when Don waved the white flag of peace. "Have you forgave me enough to let me walk you home and keep an eye on you tonight?" he asked quietly, one of this three fingered hands coming to rest on her shoulder.

Kait leaned back in the chair to look up at him, a small smile on her face. "I will consent to that. Don't know if I'll paint tonight, through. The weather report said it would be too cloudy. You're welcome to keep me company though." She stood from her chair and began searching for her shoes. Don even offered her his arm for support as she slipped into the stilettos.

Scarcely were they back in the sewers when Kait's errant thoughts took control of her mouth. "How old are you?" she blurted out before turning scarlet red in her cheeks. "It's just," she tried to cover. "Emily looks so much younger than me, so I thought it was safe to assume that Raph and the rest of you were close to her age. And I started feeling like an old cow." She managed to shut herself up before she spilt anything else.

Don laughed a little, looking over at her out of the corner of his eye. "We turned twenty-seven last month. I'm the one that's starting to feel like an old cow. Things are getting sore that never used to get sore. Still think you're older than us?" he asked good naturedly, glancing over at her.

Kait pretended offense. "Don't you know you shouldn't ask a woman her age?" she quipped lightly, loosening up and opening up around Don.

He only shrugged, looking at her more closely. "Obviously less than thirty. But more than twenty-one."

"How do you know I'm over twenty-one?" she laughed. She knew it was rather obvious, but she wanted to hear his rationale.

"Well, you had wine in your kitchen last night and you have a diploma from graduate school. Both of those make it quite obvious your between the ages of twenty-four and twenty-nine." He looked at her reaction.

"For the record, I graduated with my masters at twenty-three." She smiled up at him. "Same year Greg went into the army." She murmured quietly, playing with the strap of her bag.

"Greg?" don asked politely.

"It's nothing." She murmured quietly. "For the record, I'm about two months younger than you." She told him cheerily.

"Your birthday is this month?" Don asked conversationally, understanding her discomfort on the subject of this Greg.

She nodded a bit. "Halloween."

He nodded in return, making a mental note to himself. By this point, they had reached the ladder closest to her apartment. "Do you want me to watch you tonight?" he asked, almost hoping she would say yes.

But Kait turned him down. "I'm not gonna work tonight. I need to catch up on some sleep. I'm thinking hot shower, pasta, and a long date with my pillow. Will you come watch me tomorrow night?" She hoped he would say yes.

"Of course. You got the note about our phone number, right?" it was actually the number to his personal cell phone, rather than the rewired payphone in the living room.

She nodded, before reaching out and gently touching his smooth arm. "I'll see you tomorrow."

At that, the two separated and she climbed up the ladder, ending up on the back side of her apartment building. It was a quick walk up the stairs into her apartment. A few moments after she had set her bag onto the counter, there was a hesitant knock on her door. She walked quickly up to her door and looked through the peephole. All she could see was a light blue fitted t-shirt close to the hole. Trustingly, she opened the door a little to see who it was.

"Greg?" Her voice squeaked a little as she opened the door a little farther.

His blue eyes looked down at her with a sad little quirk. "Milo told me you moved in hear since we last spoke." His voice was a deep rumbling murmur. "I was in town and I decided to stop by to see you."

"You talked to Milo?" Kait was becoming increasingly more anxious as she stood in her doorway with Greg on the other side.

He nodded a little. "He was cordial as ever." There was a tinge in his voice that Kait had learned over the years to mean he was in pain, not physical, but emotional.

"Come on in, Greg. I was just about to cook dinner." Kait stepped aside, allowing the muscled man to move past her, lumbering in with a slight limp in his right leg. "I can make enough for two." She was instantly glad she hadn't invited Don to stay. Neither Don nor Greg was ready to meet each other yet. Kait wasn't even sure if she was in a mood to deal with Greg. They had never had the best of relationships. Then again, that was expected of the prodigal daughter and the illegitimate son.

Kait's half-brother dropped himself gingerly onto her couch. "Don't worry about it, Kaity." He sighed.

"You know, you're the only one that still calls me that." Kait sighed, filling a pot with water to start the pasta. "I've been Kait to everyone else in this world for years now."

He nodded, rubbing his military cut roughly. "I know." He elongated each word. "I guess I just liked Kaity better."

"Where are you stationed now?" she asked as she came to sit in one of the chairs.

"About to head to Fort Bragg. I've got a few days leave so I decided to come up to visit my big sister." He smiled at her slightly.

She chuckled a little. "I'm not your big sister by any means. You're the one that grew up big and strong and joined the army."

"You know why I did that." He sighed, rubbing his head again.

She nodded. "But you renewed the contract. So it isn't just some attempt at proving your manhood anymore. You don't have anything to make up for. You never did."

"Yes I did!" he almost shouted.

"What did Milo say to you?" she asked quietly.

Greg shrugged, sinking farther into the couch. "Asked how I've been, where I was being reassigned, stuff like that." His fist slammed down onto the couch. "Like nothing ever happened between..." His voice strangled itself out.

"Greg, he's trying to be your friend!"Kait shouted. "He's tried to be your friend since you ran off. You broke his heart because you felt ashamed of yourself." Without hesitation, Kait has sided with her friend over her brother.

"Our father was ashamed of me!" he shouted right back at her, standing from the couch.

Kait shot to her feet as well. This was why her family never had any family reunions. "That doesn't matter. You were happy living with us. You were happy with Milo. Then our father says one thing about what he thinks of guys like you two and girls like me and you decide to leave Milo, leave me, and run off into the army, like that would make up for the fact you were gay!"

The silence resonated in the small room as the siblings stared each other down. Greg had run from his feelings and in the process shunned his older sister and his then boyfriend, Milo Evans. Since that day, four years before, Kait had seen her brother twice, and Milo had never seen him, despite countless attempts to reconnect and reconcile with him.

But Greg refused to deal with the fact that he had hurt anyone and that he was deceiving himself. Milo had since gone through a few boyfriends and girlfriends, as had Kait, and they tried not to think about the day that they had gone to lunch with Milo and the siblings' father, who had conceived Gregory Mathers with his secretary, Jocelyn Mathers, two months after he had conceived Kaitlynn Daws with his wife, Mary. The second he saw Milo rest his hand on Greg's, he went ballistic on the two men, then turning on his daughter when she confessed to share Milo's tendencies. Neither of the siblings had seen or talked to him since.

"I should leave." Greg murmured, turning mechanically towards the door.

"No, wait." Kait moved to reach for him, but her arm only moved a few inches from her side. "Greg, please."

Her words fell on deaf ears as he marched his way back down the hallway, slamming the door behind him.

Yet again, Kait had lost her brother.

With tears streaming down her face and sobs starting to pull at her body, she stumbled to the bathroom where she had left Don's sticky note. It was sitting on the counter, right where she left it. She kicked off her heels and found her cell phone, dialing the number with shaking fingers.

_Ring…Ring…_

"Don." He answered quickly and mechanically.

"It's Kait." She tried to even out her voice, but she knew it was shaking.

"What's wrong? I'm on my way over right now." She could hear sounds of the sewer behind him and the sounds of him running.

"I'll tell you when you get here. The window's gonna be unlocked." She heard Don end the phone call before she ended the call on her line.

She changed her clothes while tears continued to drip onto her cheeks. After a few minutes, She heard the window slide open and Don slide in. "Kait?" His voice was torn with concern as he saw her struggling with the zipper of her jacket.

She turned to him, her red rimmed eyes tell tale of what her emotional state was. He rushed to her quickly, taking her gently around her shoulders. "What happened?" he asked quietly. "I just dropped you off a few minutes ago. What could have happened in that short amount of time to…"

"Greg." She murmured, plopping down on her bed.

He kneeled down on the bed beside her. "I thought you said it was nothing."

"He's my brother." Kait looked up at him. "Well, half brother, kind of. It's complicated."

"Well, if it's upsetting you this much, tell me about it. I'm sure I'm smart enough to follow." He gently rubbed her arms, trying to calm her down.

She took a deep breath, prepared to explain her confusing family story. "I'm the older one, by two months."

"Then you can't be…"

"I know. We're half siblings. Our father cheated on my mother, his wife, with his mother, his secretary. We grew up together, though. My mom dealt with it rather well, probably because of the fact she was cheating on him too." Don nodded, motioning that he understood. "We even went off to college together, Greg and I. To get away from our crazy family. That's when we met Milo. He and I were both art majors and Greg was an English major. When Milo and I decided to go to graduate school so that we could run our own gallery, Greg decided to go with us. We all moved into an apartment together to cut costs. And that's when we all came out of the closet to each other." Kait didn't notice Don's eye ridges shoot up. "Long story short, Greg and Milo dated until my father condemned us all. Then Greg ran off and joined the army right before we all graduated. I've only seen him a few times since them and Milo hasn't seen him at all, even though they were in a very serious relationship. And he just showed up in my apartment. And we fought about that night. And he just stormed out. And I think I lost my brother." The sobs started up again as Don cradled her gently.

"You asked me last night if I had a girlfriend. I think it's my turn to ask you that question." His voice was slightly apprehensive as he picked a point on the wall to stare at.

Her laugh came out as another sob. "You hear me say I might have lost my little brother from my life and you ask if I have a girlfriend?"

"I think it's a legitimate question." Don insisted playfully.

She shook her head. "I've never dated a girl, only slept with them. So no, no girlfriend. Now boyfriend either, for that matter." She wiped her tears away with her sleeve.

"Come here." Don murmured against her hair, pulling her closer. "Now, if this guy is your brother, he'll be back. He sounds like Raph, well, except the gay part. He's gonna throw a hissy fit and then come back to apologize when he feels like it. Give him time and he will come back around. To you and Milo."

Kait nodded, leaning back against his side. "I just wish he wasn't so pig headed. He broke my heart and my best friend's heart. Some brother."

"If you think the four of us haven't had spats, you're crazy. Leo went to South America for two years and Raph moonlighted the entire time. I took up the job I have and Mikey worked birthday parties. We have had some tough times too." He squeezed her a little tighter for a brief moment. "Just give him time."

"Thanks, Don." She sighed, deflating in his arms, all the strength just melting from her body.

"Anytime. I mean it."

**AN: More fluff, I know, but I need to build things up before I can tear them down…**

**So, dun dun dun…thins will go badly for our new pair. But I'll get there in time. For now, pay attention to everybody, I promise they'll be important. Even poor, poor Greg will be important later on. Especially when it all comes crashing down for Kait. **

**Well, as always, comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.**

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	7. Chapter 7

Don was still at her apartment a few hours later, making Kait tea as she continued to relax after the fiasco with Greg. Kait had changed into sweatpants and t-shirt, curled up on the couch, watching Don as he bustled about her kitchen.

"Hey, Don." She called out gently.

He turned his head quickly over his shoulder to look at her. "Yes?" he called back as he poured the hot water into the two mugs, dropping a tea bag into each.

"Do you ever take that bandana mask off?" Kait's question was sincere and honestly curious, so she hoped it didn't offend him.

He smiled a little as he sat down gently beside her on the couch, handing her the tea and watching as she settled against the plush back of the couch, sitting sideways so she could face him, her small hands wrapping around the porcelain mug. "When I sleep and take showers. That's about it. Why?" he took a sip of his tea as he waiting for her.

With her cheeks a cherry red, Kait searched for the right words to tell him. "Well, your eyes are so…so…pretty. It's a shame that they're always in the shadows." She looked down into the steaming water in embarrassment to avoid looking up at Don.

To her surprised, he chuckled slightly. "I can take it off if you want." He told her gently, hoping her hazel eyes would look up at him again, because he thought her eyes were so pretty.

She glanced at him with excitement clear in her eyes, nodding happily.

Don smiled down at her and began to untie the very familiar and well worn knot in the back of his bandana. After a few moments, he held it nervously in his lap, looking down at Kait with a smidge more clarity without the shadow over his eyes. For him, it was like taking off a pair of sunglasses for the first time in a long time. Kait was about to lose the fight to reach up and touch his face when the phone began to ring.

By the ringtone, the standard cell phone ring, and the lack of the caller ID picture, Kait knew it was an unknown number. Holding up a finger for Don to be quiet, she slid the icon to accept the call. "Kait Daws." She answered mechanically.

Don watched her face, trying to hear the other side of the conversation. He knew it was an invasion of her privacy for him to be so nosey, but he was worried about her.

"Yes, Kaitlynn Daws is my full name." she repeated, confusion leaking into her voice.

Don could only hear mumbling on the other end of the call, so he had to rely on Kait and her reaction.

"Yes, he's my brother." She murmured quietly.

Greg. Don was already anxious, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her, to comfort her, because he doubted what Kait was about to hear next was anything good.

"What?" her voice cracked in shock and emotion.

Don took that as his cue, closing the distance between them in a smooth slide across the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tucking her head underneath his chin; imitating what he had seen Raph and Casey do many times. He felt Kait collapse into his arms and he felt like he had accomplished something.

"Alright, I'll be right there." She ended the call and turned in Don's arms, her breath catching as she realized their faces were only an inch apart. After a moment of pure, still silence between them, Kait took in a deep, shaking breath. "Greg is in the hospital. He was hit by a car. I've gotta go see him, I have to…" a sob stole her voice.

Don took her up even closer in his arms, his hands meeting behind her head, gently touching her hair. He felt her arms cling behind his shoulders, her fingers gripping him tightly, and her head come to rest on his shoulder, her hose nestled against his neck. "Shhh…" he whispered, gently running a hand down her back.

She sobbed against his skin for a few moments before she collected herself with another deep breath, but she didn't let go of him. "I wish you could come with my, Don. I could really use the support. And I don't think it would be a good idea for Milo to come." Her voice was a bit shaky, but it was obvious that she had regained her wits.

"I could." He murmured quietly, pulling away from her but keeping his arms around her. "If your brother is unconscious I could come in the window. Or, if we have my family's permission, I could come in anyways, bring your brother in on the secret."

She shook her head, looking up at him tenderly. "I don't wanna expose you guys to any more publicity. But," she met his eyes for a moment. "If he's asleep or out, could you come in?" Don heard the pleading in her voice and nodded.

"Of course." Don murmured quietly.

He sat on the couch, watching Kait bustle about her apartment, finding sneakers, a sweater, a jacket, and her wallet. Don's thoughts revolved around the young woman that he watched, with her eyes still red and her face so pale. That moment on the couch, when they had been so close, he had felt his heart take off in ways that he had never thought possible. In parts of his logical mind he wondered if this was how Raph felt about Emily, or how Casey felt for April. All he knew at the time was that he cared about Kait, very deeply. But at that same moment, he knew that nothing would come of it. Because he had seen the shock in Kait's face as she looked at him. She was surprised, taken aback, not a hint of love or tenderness in her eyes. To her, he was support, a kind face, nothing more.

Kait was finally dressed and bundled with a cab on the way when she stilled in the living room, her face almost lost. "The number you gave me, it's your own phone, right?" her eyes locked with him with a bit of desperation.

He nodded, pulling the small cell phone from a pouch on his belt.

"I'll give you a call when I find out Greg's condition, alright?" Her face still looked so lost and Don was having problems not going to her.

He nodded again, standing from the couch and walking towards the window, planning to walk past her without hesitation, determined not to show the chink in his calculating armor.

"Don," her whisper caught his attention when he was beside her, stopping and turning him without his consent. She wrapped her arms around his neck, coming up on her tiptoes to reach. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear before planting a gentle kiss on his cheek, so light he could barely feel the feathery touch.

"You're welcome." His voice was almost lost in his throat as he quickly escaped out the window, his heart thundering away. A few roofs away, he turned and looked into the warmly lit room, and Kait was no longer there.

When Kait walked into the clean white room, the first thing she saw was the red. Red bandages were wrapped all around her brother's head and arms. His eyes were swollen and purple and closed. "What is the outlook?" she asked the doctor quietly.

"He'll be alright. Some deep and shallow lacerations, a strained shoulder, and a concussion. But he's unconscious for now." He told her quietly, signing off on her next of kin sheet before he paused. "You're only…"

"We're half-siblings." Kait sighed, knowing what the comment would be.

The doctor only nodded and walked out of the room.

She sat down in the chair beside the bed, reaching out to gently touch his hand, very careful not to touch the IV needle. The phone was out of her jacket pocket and dialing Don's number without any hesitation. "He's unconscious. We're in room 654. I'll stand by the window and wait for you."

"Alright, I'll be right there."

She ended the call and walked to the window, opening it and standing beside it, looking out into the darkness. Within the minute, Don was sliding into the window, his arms instantly finding their way around Kait's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. Kait held him just as tight, thankful that she had his support there with her.

Don's eyes lighted over to Greg, the brother that had caused Kait so much harm. He could see the resemblance between them. The blonde hair was obviously a trait they shared with their father. Greg was much taller though, probably only a few inches short than Don himself, who was every inch of six feet tall. Greg was quite muscular, probably coming from four years in the army. But as he lay unconscious on the bed, he looked just as shy and helpless as Kait had when Don had carried her to her bed after the night they had met.

Kait walked back to the chair, sliding her hand into her brother's giving it a gentle squeeze. Don stood behind her, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. For nearly an hour, they stood there in silence, Don gently rubbing her shoulders as she ran her thumb back and forth over Greg's hand. After nearly an hour, Don felt Kait begin to fall asleep beneath his hands.

"Kait," he murmured quietly. "You should head home. Greg will be fine. His injuries aren't that bad. You can ask the hospital to call you when he wakes up."

She nodded, yawning and stretching in the chair. "You're right." She sighed, looking up at Don over her shoulder. "I'm sorry I kept you out so late."

"Don't apologize." He gave her a kind smile before helping her out of the chair and giving her one last hug before sliding out of the window. It hurt him a little that she hadn't even mentioned the kiss she had given him, but then again, she had more pressing things to think of. He quickly made his way back into the safety of the sewers.

Kait left the request at the nurse's station that she be called when he had woken up and left the hospital into the cold night, looking for a cab to flag down.

"Hello, Ms. Daws." She heard a Japanese woman purr behind her.

**AN: I'm a little disappointed in my readers. Either that or you guys are feeling really lazy. I got two comments on the last chapter I posted. I truly truly hope it isn't because of some ridiculous prejudice. Just because I made Kait and Milo bi and Greg gay, doesn't mean it's the end of the world.**

**Ok…now that the rant is out of the way….**

**Sorry it's short, but I like my little cliffhangers so I will give you one here. **

**Questions, comments, and concerns will gladly be heard via review or PM.**

**Sincerely,  
CM**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I am just gonna take a second to apologize to my readers because of the last few chapters. I was hasty to judge when I was complaining that others were being hasty to judge. So I'm very sorry about that. Blame it on the reluctance of an author to stick their own neck out.****  
****But countless amounts of sincere thanks to those that addressed and soothed my mental breakdown.****  
****Addressing one review about these chapters being shorter than Underdog's chapters...this is the first chapter that hasn't been five pages.****  
****Well, I know almost every scrolled right past this, but if one person read this then I'm happy.**

Kait turned around to see a beautiful Japanese woman with large eyes, short black hair, and caramel colored skin. The other woman had a hauntingly pretty smirk on her thin lips. "I hope your brother was not too badly hurt." Her accent was as thick as Splinter's. "We only wanted your attention."

"You've got it." Kait seethed, trying to covertly reach in her pocket where her phone was. She might be able to dial Don's number in her pocket.

The woman laughed, hitting Kait's arm, the phone flying out of her pocket and crashing onto the ground. "Don't try and call your creature." She hissed.

Kait nodded, beginning to panic for the first time in a while.

"Now, Ms. Daws, I want you to listen to me. I'm here to try and stop what happened to the other woman from happening to you." The woman grabbed Kait's arm and started dragging her to a car parked by a nearby building.

"You mean Emily?" Kait asked, trying to watch the woman.

She nodded. "Ms. Fredricks did not get the chance to have our warning. We tried to ask her to join us, before she fell in with _them_, but she ignored us and fought us at every turn."

"Who are you?" Kait asked, her voice starting to shake because she thought she already knew they answer.

"My name is Karai, and I am the leader of the Foot." The woman told her forebodingly before a sack was thrown over Kait's head.

Kait's eyes seared as the hood was pulled away from her as she now sat in a brightly lit room. Karai sat on the other side of the dress from her in a high backed chair. As Kait's eyes adjusted, she looked around. And saw that she was in an office filled with books and weapons while she sat in a plush leather chair.

"I hope you do not think we are too barbaric to deny a woman a comfortable place to talk." Karai murmured, her hands crossing on top of the desk. Her black skin-tight, long-sleeve shirt still managed to not leave her wrists.

Kait gave her a single humorless laugh. "Yes, I do. You have come across as quite barbaric." She motioned to the bandage on her neck. "On top of that, you put Emily in her coma."

Karai leaned up from the chair. "We did not. One member of our ranks did, without my permission, and in self defense. One of your creatures was trying to kill him. Did they tell you that?" Karai's voice dripped with pointed venom, hoping to quickly pull Kait into her plan.

"They did." Kait growled, which was out of place in her tiny frame. "Because he raped her."

Karai leaned back against the supple leather, seeing that her plan would not be as easy as she had thought. "But that was one man, not our organization. I have brought you here to warn you. Terrible things happen to those that become close to the creatures."

"Only because of you!"

"Oh, you will see."

The black car stopped in front of Kait's building only long enough for her to escape before it sped off down the street again. With tears streaming down her eyes, Kait stumbled up the stairs into her apartment, slamming the door behind her. Cujo was startled out of her sleep, meowing loudly and harshly in protest.

"Oh shut up, Cujo." Kait sobbed, throwing her jacket across the room as she stormed towards bathroom. She turned on the hot water as her sobs returned, shaking her entire body. In the hot water, she scrubbed her body down until it was red and sore. She scrubbed as hard and vigorously as she tried to remove every trace of Donatello off her skin that she could.

Karai had opened her eyes. Don wasn't human. None of them were human. They were freaks. They were creatures. She couldn't befriend something like that. She couldn't care about something like that. She couldn't love something like that. The Foot had promised to leave her alone. She didn't need the brothers anymore. She didn't need Don.

Out of the shower and in soft fleece clothes, she grabbed Cujo off her bed and brought her to Kait's bed with her, petting her soft fur as the tears continue to stream down her face. Cujo, as if she could tell what was wrong with her owner, nuzzled her soft face against Kait's, curling up against her chest so Kait could continue to pet her as she fell asleep.

But Kait didn't sleep. She laid there the entire rest of the night, slowly and gently petting the cat. After she had laid there for hours, her alarm clock finally went off. Cujo jumped a few feet up in the air before scampering off to another corner of the apartment. Kait slapped the alarm clock silent, sitting up slowly and trudging to the bathroom. In the mirror, she saw the pitiful creature she had turned back into. Her hair was a stringy mess, her eyes were red and puffy, her skin was pale, she stood with a slight shiver. She was broken.

This was why she was shy, why she always shrunk into a shell when people were involved, why she didn't trust anyone. She always got hurt. From her first boyfriend, her father, her brother, now Don.

As she took a deep breath, Kait could at least console herself that she would be seeing Milo within the hour.

Lacking the will to put real effort into her appearance, she found trouser pants, high heels, and a nice shirt from her closet, brushing out her hair and braiding it before she mechanically walked out to the street to hail a cab.

When she walked into the gallery, recently renovated with new lights, the first thing she sought was Milo. She found his disorderly brown locks leaning over his desk.

"Milo." She called out quietly. They were always the first two at the gallery, so she had no qualms throwing her arms around his neck and holding on for dear life. Confused, he still hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her waist, picking her up a little as he straightened out.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked her quietly, his cheek wresting up against her hair.

She nodded, not letting go of him quite yet. "Greg came to visit me last night." Milo stiffened in her grasp. "But we fought and he left and he got hit by a car and he's in the hospital." She fought the sobs, but she could only do so much. "And I asked them to call me when he woke up, but I dropped my phone and it broke."

Milo nodded against her head, holding her out at arm's length. "You can take my old phone and activate it as yours until we can go get you a new one. In the mean time, go to Greg. He's gonna need you. I'll tell the others you had family issues and that you had to go. I know enough about your stuff to sell it just fine." He walked her to his desk and pulled out a phone that was a few years old, his back up that he kept on hand in case of utter phone melt down.

She nodded and booted up her computer, going through the steps of activating it.

"Could you tell me how he's doing?" Milo asked quietly.

Startled, Kait looked over at him. "Of course."

With a new phone in tow and a gentle kiss planted on Milo's cheek, Kait was in another cab on her way to the hospital, trying desperately to ignore the three messages that Don had left her. She had to force him out of her mind. She knew that. Yet it was still so hard.

At the hospital, she was greeted by a familiar nurse, one of the ones that had seen her the night before. She was an older woman, old enough to be Kait's grandmother almost, with a warm and kind smile.

"Your brother is awake." She told her happily, her blue eyes beaming behind the thick glasses. "I tried to call you but…"

Kait held up Milo's phone. "My phone broke and I just replaced it. Can I go see my brother?"

The woman nodded, guiding her again towards the room. The younger of the siblings was sitting up in the bed, looking out the window until he heard her come into the room. "Hey, Kaity." He sighed, trying to force a smile.

Kait smiled back, gently sitting down on the bed beside him. "Now, how on Earth did you manage to walk into a car?" she asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

He shrugged slightly with one shoulder. "I have no clue. I was blind drunk, honestly." After a deep breath, he looked up at her hazel eyes. "I'm sorry if I worried you, sis."

"_If_?!" she almost shouted, curbing it to a laugh at the last minute. "Of course I was worried. I was with…" her voice died out as she thought of his name. Minutely shaking her head, she forced herself to continue. "And then the hospital calls to tell me my brother has been hit by a car. I was very worried."

Greg nodded, reaching over to gently hold her hand. The tenderness startled Kait for a moment. Greg hadn't been this kind to her in years. But it took a near death experience to open his eyes. Open hers as well. She sat with him for several hours before her/Milo's phone began to vibrate. The picture on the screen made it clear that it was Milo. Cautiously, she answered it, hoping that Greg hadn't seen the phone.

"How's he doing?" Milo asked carefully from the other end. She could tell he was at the gallery because she could hear Joey's distinct Boston accent in the background.

"Better. He's awake and cognizant. I wish you'd come by." Kait tried to whisper, but even in his imparred state, Greg heard her, mouthing _who_ to her.

She heard him sigh deeply. "I'll think about it. Are you ok, Kait?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She also sighed deeply. "I just wish things would straighten out a little."

"Tell me about it all later, okay?"

"Okay. I'll talk to you later, Milo."

"I'll make sure of it."

Kait ended the call and looked up at her brother. He looked very guilty as he sat in the bed, his hands playing with each other. "How's Milo doing?" Greg asked quietly, his voice breaking a little.

"He's doing just fine. He sent me here from work so I wouldn't be going crazy. He was worried about the both of us." Kait tried to reassure him, gently squeezing his hand, gaining only a nod from her little brother.

Kait visited Greg every day for a week. She went to work every day. She replaced her phone. Her neck healed without a scar.

She refused to answer her phone whenever Don called. She deleted the texts before she even read them. For a week she had a normal life.

Greg was discharged from the hospital after eight days and was on a flight to Fort Bragg within two hours, a rushed good bye to Kait and absolutely no attempt to contact Milo. But the three didn't expect anything different. Greg thought he would be expected to fly away without a word, and Milo and Kait expected him to leave them behind again.

But life was normal again. She worked at night, but never saw the brothers. She took a cab into work at morning, went out to lunch with Milo, and redid the cycle the next day. For almost a week she thought her life was normal again. She thought it was all behind her.

But then her phone rang late one night, just before Kait was ready to go to bed. She didn't recognize the number, so she picked it up cautiously.

"Kait Daws." She murmured politely.

"Hello, Ms. Daws." A woman murmured back in a thick Japanese voice. "This is…"

"Karai, I know." Kait interrupted. "What do you want?" Her voice was neither cold nor friendly but remained mechanically neutral.

The other woman chuckled slightly. "We need your help. The creatures are becoming a nuisance. We would like your assistance in locating their home so that we can exterminate them once and for all. I assume you have been to their home before."

"I've been there." Kait was becoming cautious now.

"Tomorrow afternoon, will you take us to them?" Karai had leaked some charm into her voice, attempting to sound friendly.

Kait shook her head, even though she knew Karai couldn't see it. "I may hate them, but I won't betray them. They never did anything against me. I won't do anything against them."

"But Ms. Daws, you despise them, you…"

"But I won't let you murder them. I'm not gonna help you, Karai. Don't call me again." She ended the phone call and promptly turned her phone off, tears rolling down her cheeks as she thought about the brothers, of Don.

She dreamed about him that night. She dreamed about feeling his cool, smooth skin against hers, of seeing his smile, of seeing his rich brown eyes. She dreamed of being with him.

And when Kait awoke, she was not disgusted that she had just dreamed of Don's hands on her body, of his lips of hers. In the back of her mind, a part that held the minority, but enough to be heard, she wanted it. But this depressed her even more.

So, in low spirits, Kait walked into work on a Friday morning. Her brother was gone again. Her heart was broken. And her birthday was only weeks away. Unlike most people, she didn't like her birthday. It was a reminder that she was getting older and the world would soon be leaving her behind.

She pushed open the large glass door after stepping out of the cab into the frigid air. Her eyes, as always, looked for Milo once she entered. But, unlike almost every other day in the history of their business together, Milo was not at his desk. He wasn't anywhere in the gallery.

Quickly, her phone was out of her purse. No messages or calls. He always told her if he was going to be late.

Without hesitation, she dialed his number, waiting for him to pick up. One ring before voicemail the call was finally accepted.

"We've been waiting for you to call, Ms. Daws." Karai's already familiar voice purred.

"What have you done with Milo you, you…"

"Silence!" Karai hissed into the phone. "If you want your beloved Milo back in one breathing piece, you will wait for us in your apartment tonight and you will lead us to the creatures. If you do not, we will slit his throat in your living room. After he has died, we will torture you for their home. Do yourself and your friend a favor and cooperate."

"Alright." Kait murmured, ending the call mechanically. After a few moments of shuddering sobs, she pulled her phone up again, dialing a number that made her tears grow into a small river.

"Kait?" The incredulous voice called from the other end, his voice catching.

"Donatello," she sobbed quietly. "I need your help."

**AN: Well, I'm sorry this one is a bit choppy. The plot bunnies were being difficult. Well, I hate to leave you with another cliffhanger, but at least this one isn't so bad. **

**Hope you're still liking the story, even though it isn't much like Underdog, which I think a lot of my readers expected. But I promise there will be parallels. This is kinda one of them. But it takes some thought to figure it out. **

**As always, comments, concerns, and questions are always welcome.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sincerely,  
CM**


	9. Chapter 9

As the sun was sinking below the horizon, Kait sat cross-legged on her bench on her roof, waiting. Her arms pulled her legs tight against her chest as she rocked back and forth a little. A few minutes after the sun had completely hid itself behind the skyline she heard the thud a few roofs over. Uncurling herself, she stood, her eyes straining to see in the darkness.

"I see you have some sense, Ms. Daws, and that you care about your friend." Karai spoke arrogantly as she sashayed onto Kait's roof.

Kait only nodded, watching the other woman closely and praying she wouldn't give anything away.

"So you have decided to take us to their lair?" Karai asked, her voice as sickly sweet as it had been on the phone.

"Let me see him first. Take me to Milo. Once I know he's safe I will take you to them." Kait's voice shook but she could only hope Karai would think it was because of fear.

Karai was silent for a moment, pondering her options and taking in the appearance of the pitiful, trembling woman in front of her. "Alright. We will take you to Milo and then you will take us to them. But if you betray us, I will give the order for one of my men to kill him."

Kait nodded, moving to follow the Foot into her apartment. She was occasionally pushed from behind as they descended the stairs and finally as she was shoved into the same black car as before and a black hood was pulled over her head.

In the darkness, all she could hear and feel was her breath. But as she listened to the air moving in and out of her nose, it calmed her. She still remembered his voice and his touch. He told her to listen to every breath she took, use it like a tick of a clock. He told her to slow down that clock until it met time with his slow, rhythmic tapping on her arms. She took deep breaths as she looked up at him, his chocolate eyes calming her. Her breathing slowed until it matched the steady tapping on her arms. She focused on his hands on her shoulders and his eyes on hers. After he saw her calm, he gently wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hold her too close.

The thought of Don in her apartment just before they separated, her to wait on the roof and him to join his brothers on an adjoining rooftop, kept her calm until the hood was removed from her face and she could see the inside of a garage. She could only hope the boys had kept up as she was pulled out of the car and dragged into a freight elevator. After a few moments, they were in an open and derelict warehouse. Tied to a chair in the middle of the room, tape over his mouth and surrounded by several Foot members, was Milo. He saw Kait and his blue-green eyes widened significantly enough for her to see it across the room.

Kait ran to him quickly, throwing her arms around his waist as she fell to her knees in front of him, tears streaming down her face.

"Are you okay?" her voice cracked as she pushed his hair out of his face. A nod. "Did they hurt you?" she didn't see any marks on him, but it could have been beneath his clothes. A shrug. "I'm so sorry, Milo. I can't believe they involved you in this. I promise I'll explain it all once it's over." Another nod. She threw her arms around his neck and held him tight for a few moments before she was pulled away.

"Now, Ms. Daws, will you take us to them?" Karai growled to Kait as they pulled her back into the elevator.

Kait nodded, tears still falling down her cheeks as she lost sight of Milo. She could only pray that that Leo and Mikey were doing their part of the plan. Back in the car and back in the hood, she was only in the dark for a few minutes before her eyesight was restored.

"They live in the old sewer system." Kait murmured quietly.

Karai sighed impatiently. "We know. But where? Take us to them."

Kait nodded. "I only know the way from the shop. Can you take me there?"

The black car fired to life, and for the first time she wasn't put in the hood so she could actually see the city fly by as she began to shake and sweat in the seat. Within minutes, they were at the gallery and she was being dragged out of the car and pushed towards the manhole. By time she walked to it, a few of the burlier men had pulled it aside. With a deep breath, Kait sat on the edge like she had with Casey, knowing that this time she wouldn't have someone to catch her.

The fall was even more terrifying than the first time, and the landing was painful. She felt something roll in her ankle, but when she slowly stood, her hand against the wall for support, she was happy to find that she could easily support her weight, there was just a bit of discomfort. The Foot were surrounding her by then and she was forced to start walking.

She made sure she followed the instructions that Don had repeated to her again and again. After twenty minutes of walking, she found the steel door that Don had told her would be there. "I've never been strong enough to open it." She told the Foot quietly, her heart racing in her chest. She was sure it could be heard on the other side of the door.

One of the Foot men stepped up to muscle it open. After a few seconds, everyone heard it creak as the hinges finally surrendered their guard. Everything happened simultaneously, and it was difficult for Kait to remember Don's instructions for her. He had told her to press against the back wall, get as far away from the ensuing struggle as possible, while still remaining within Don's sight. Kait did her best to obey, backing against the wall as Don, Raph, Splinter, Casey, and April leapt from the room, attacking the Foot ninjas and Karai.

Despite being outnumbered, the good guys were winning, slowly pushing the Foot back down the tunnel Kait had led them from. But Karai would have none of that. Slipping away from her struggle with April, she grabbed Kait by the arm, dragging her down another tunnel.

"You and your friend are dead now, Ms. Daws." Karai hissed as she squeezed Kait's arm painfully.

"Don!" Kait screamed as she tried to pull and fight back, but the other woman was much stronger than her. "Don, help!" She screamed before she was punched in the gut, stealing away all her wind.

Don heard her call his name just before he knocked out the two Foot ninjas he was fighting. "Kait!" he shouted back, hoping she would call again so he would know which of the three tunnels she had been pulled down.

"That way, my son!" Splinter shouted, pointing his own bo staff down the hallway he had seen Karai move towards.

Don didn't wait for permission from his father or his older brother, Kait was his priority. Even after what had happened between him and Kait because of the Foot, he would never hesitate to protect her. Running at full tilt, he ran down the sewer branch for a few moments before he saw Kait's trademark strawberry blonde hair glistening in front of him.

"Stop, Karai! Let her go!" he bellowed, his voice sounding almost like Raph's because of his anger.

Obviously Karai feared Raph more than she would Don, probably because of the vengeance she knew Raph would seek, because she turned around with pure panic in her eyes until she realized it was only Don.

"Let her go or I'll kill you myself." Don hissed, holding his bo at the ready, knowing Karai had two katanas, just like Leo.

Karai only smiled underneath her black hood. Without any warning, she pushed Kait towards Don, following just behind her with her sword drawn. Don caught Kait with one arm, holding her away from Karai on the other side of his body, and bringing his bo up to block the sword with his other. It was almost impossible for him to fight and protect her at the same time. Where he could normally fight two or three Foot ninjas at the same time and still win, Karai was no ordinary Foot ninja and he wasn't usually trying to protect a helpless woman.

Thankfully for both Kait and Don, Raph joined his brother in the sewer tunnel, his sais ready to defend his family and avenge his lover. Karai's face drained of color as she tried to run, but Splinter was behind her, having snuck along the wall while Karai was distracted by the arrival of the other brother. Splinter and his sons all knew what was about to happen. They had been waiting for Karai to show herself for several long months. The whole Hamoto family had reached a silent agreement that Karai would not survive her next encounter with the family because of what she did to Emily.

Splinter struck first, pushing Karai towards the brothers. Don struck her towards Raph, who had a sai waiting point first.

As quickly as it had begun, the fight was over. Half the ninjas were dead, the other half had ran away, and Karai now lay on the ground, a sai protruding from her chest. As Don looked down at the draining body, he noticed it wasn't Raph's. Raph's sais had brown leather grips, plus, Raph still had two sais tucked into his belt. The weapon that his brother had used to kill Karai had a blue grip. It was Emily's, unused since she had killed the Foot ninja in the sewers.

"I've been carryin' it around wit' me." Raph mumbled, looking down at the dead woman. "I've been waitin' for the day I could get revenge for Em."

Don nodded, patting his brother on the arm. He knew Raph would be sleeping in the chair in Emily's room tonight. All was quiet until he heard a sob from the corner of the sewer. Turning on a dime, he saw Kait cowering in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. In two steps he was in front of her, taking her up in his arms, lifting her up off the ground as he held her, his face tucking into her hair.

"Shhh," he murmured, feeling her wrap her arms around his neck. "It's all okay now."

Kait pulled in a broken sob. "Milo..." She tried to finish the sentence but her voice broke.

"Is on his way to the lair with Leo and Mikey. And I'm going to take you there right now." Don told her quietly, switching his hold so that he carried her bridal style, even though her arms were still around his neck.

After a few blocks, Kait quietly asked to be put down. She appreciated the return of the security of Don's arms around her, but she wanted to walk on her own.

"You sure?" Don murmured to her, letting the others pass in front of them while he gently ran his hand up and down her arm. She nodded a little, looking up at him with that old look of complete trust that he had missed. Don pulled her closer, resting his face against her hair. "I'm sorry you had to see that. But I have to admit Raph might be in a better mood from now on."

That managed to pull a chuckle out of Kait as she threw her arms around his neck, holding him close. It startled him at first, having her that close again, but he wrapped his arms around her small waist, holding her tightly. After a few moments, they separated, keeping their arms around each other.

"Come on," Don smiled down at her. "Let's get you to Milo." He gently guided her down the tunnels, a hand resting millimeters from her back.

After a few minutes they were in the shabby living room. The others had already dispersed by time they arrived, all except the curled up body on the couch.

"Milo?" Kait's voice cracked a little as she waited, her hand finding Don's and holding it tightly. He stepped closer to her, squeezing her hand back.

The ball uncurled and revealed its disheveled brown hair and red rimmed blue eyes. "Kait!" His body uncurled immediately as he sprung up from the couch, walking unsteadily towards them. "Let go of her, you freak!" he shouted, pointing a finger at Don.

Kait let go of Don's hand so she could hold out both hands to stop him, pushing against his chest before he could get close enough to start swinging. Milo had a bit of a violent streak when it came to being protective, especially protecting Kait. "Milo, relax, they're my friends. The ones I told you about at the diner. This is Donatello, but he goes by Don." She took a step back to stand beside Don, squeezing his arm a little.

Don offered his hand for Milo to shake. "I'm the one that's patched up Kait's neck, if she told you about that. I've been watching her at night, taking care of her."

Milo didn't meet his hand. "You've been around Kait?!" Milo was still shouting and beginning to tremble where he stood.

"As much as she'll let me." Don gave him a meek smile, glancing down at Kait.

Kait knew Milo was about to hit something, probably Don, so she stepped between them again. "Milo, chill. They. Are. My. Friends. Don especially. If you hit him, or any of them for that matter, I'm going to hit you right back."

Milo deflated, his eyes darkening and his shoulders sagging. His arms wrapped around Kait tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried." He hid his face in her hair.

She held him back. "I was so worried about you, Milo."

They stood there, holding each other for a little while, just glad to see each other again.

"Kait," Don whispered, his fingers gently touching her back. "Do you want me to leave you two alone?" He wanted to leave, feeling out of place as he watched the almost intimate exchange between the two. He began to worry about the validity of his emotions. Maybe she already loved Milo. He mentally chastised himself for even caring who she loved.

Kait turned around to look at Don, gently touching his arm. "No, please, stay. I need your help to tell him. If I can tell him anything."

"You can tell him everything." Don gave her a small smile, beckoning her back over to the couch. Milo followed them closely. The three sat down, Kait in between the two, a hand on Milo's knee and her back against Don's side. He wrested a hand on her hip, reassuring her. He remembered vividly that contact grounded her, calmed her. It helped after her brother barged in and in the hospital. He planned on sticking to that plan.

For about two hours, the three sat there, Don and Kait explaining it all to Milo. He was startled, a little scared. But they had expected that. Kait gently comforted him through it, and Don kept Kait calm through it. After two hours, another had been brought into the fold. Milo was silent, lost in his own thoughts, leaving Kait and Don to theirs.

"I wanna show you something." Don murmured to her, gently touching her arm to snap her out of her trance of worry.

Kait nodded as Don gently pulled her off the couch. Milo didn't even notice them move. Don led her to his lab, motioning for her to sit on the examination bed. He stoked his computers to life and clicked on a few icons, opening up a picture file.

Kait lost her breath as she couldn't help but smile. Don had taken her sketch of the family and turned it into a three-dimensional image.

"I had to do something with my time. Even though I was still watching you at night." Don leaned back in his chair with a large smile, watching her face.

Kait walked up behind him, giving him a hug around his chair. "Thank you, Don. I'm so sorry about what happened, I…"

"Don!" Raph shouted as he slid into the lab. "Don, something changed on the screen." He glanced at Kait, but was more focused on his younger brother.

"Show me." Don's voice was hard, scientific, but hopeful. He grabbed Kait's arm and gently pulled her with him.

In Emily's room, Raph pointed to the EEG machine at her bedside. Don was silent for a few moments, just watching the screen, nodding to himself.

"The brain activity is higher than it's been since she fell in the coma." Don mumbled more to himself, but Raph and Kait heard him.

"What does that mean?" Raph asked tentatively.

"It means she's that much closer to waking up."

**AN: Sorry this took a little longer than usual, but life is annoyingly tapping me on my shoulder and reminding me I have other things to do. **

**And you might hate me for it, but I am starting to love these cliffhangers. If you really want me to stop them, tell me and I'll try to be a bit nicer with my updates. **

**I also have to apologize for my last chapter, I was having a fight with a horde of plot bunnies and I forced them to come out, even though they really didn't want to, so it made a mess of the chapter. I will try to keep the quality of my updates a bit better. **

**Questions, comments, concerns, and quandaries are always welcome.**

**Thanks for sticking with me through all this.**

**Sincerely,**

**C M**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I know I don't usually have these BEFORE the story, but I felt the need to preface that the song mentioned below is "Something in Your Mouth" by Nickleback, off their album Dark Horse. So, enjoy!**

Don and Kait made a speedy escape from Emily's room, leaving the almost crying Raph alone with his fiancé. Don told him to take the opportunity to talk to her more, coax her that much farther from the coma, as he shut the door behind him, turning to look down at Kait.

"I hope you and Milo won't mind staying here for a day or two. Just until we can get a sense of what's going on in the Foot." He leaned against the wall beside her, looking down at her hopefully. He desperately wanted to have her undivided attention for a few days.

Kait nodded, looking shyly up at Don, her teeth snagging her bottom lip a little. The little motion distracted Don a bit, his chocolate eyes falling down to her lips for a moment. "I don't want to intrude, and I know Milo doesn't want to, either." As polite as she was trying to be, she hoped that he was sure about letting her stay with them. Standing this close to him, she couldn't help but remember the dream that had come to her earlier about Don. Standing less than a foot from him, there wasn't any of the old apprehension she used to feel. There was only excitement, interest, and hope. She just hoped Don was as willing to integrate, as he had called it, as his older brother was.

Don only nodded back, lost in his own thoughts. "You won't intrude, Kait. I promise."

"And you haven't broken a promise yet." Kait gave him a smile, small but sweet. She was so amazed with herself that she felt his natural around Don.

Don mirrored her smile. "I won't ever break a promise to you." He gently touched her arm before heading back down the stairs, knowing she would be right behind him.

Milo was alert at this point, sitting up on the couch and watching them walk down the stairs. "Kait, I want to go home." He told her quietly, solemnly.

Don looked over his shoulder at the woman that he knew would have to be the liaison between his family and Milo. "Milo, we need to stay down here for a few days, until we know it's safe." She told him gently, sitting beside him on the couch.

"You want to stay down here? With these things?" Milo asked her quietly, looking over at Don.

Don and Milo saw an instant change in Kait. She went from small and gently to sharp and rigid, glaring up at Milo. "Milo, stop that. These are my friends. They have saved me several times, and now you. If you don't start acting like a man instead of a petulant little boy, you and I are going to have problems." She crossed her arms over her chest for added effect.

Milo nodded, his shoulders deflating on each other. "Can we at least get out a little? I need to get rid of this anxiety, blow off some steam. Please? Just a few hours of the normal world and then I'll gladly stay down here for awhile."

Kait looked over at Don, her eyes asking permission. "Not tonight." He murmured quietly, watching Milo for his reaction. "Tomorrow night, I will watch you two go somewhere you don't usually. Alright?"

Milo nodded. "Want to go dancing?" he asked Kait, already twitching for a chance to get out. "I promise not to use you as a wingman to pick somebody up."

Kait again looked to Don for permission. When he nodded in assent, she turned back to Milo. "I'm not sure I really want to _dance_, but I'll go with you so you can have some fun." She gave her best friend a smile on top of the promise to try and cheer him up.

The change was drastic in Milo's face. He visibly relaxed and his eyes warmed to the kind glow Kait loved to see. The promise of something normal obviously comforted him after the rug was pulled out from beneath his feet. "Is there someplace I could try to get some sleep?" he asked sheepishly.

Don nodded, seeing that it was in fact rather late. "You can take my room." He jerked his thumb up the stairs. "Kait, you can have the bed in the lab. I'll sleep on the couch out here." Milo and Kait nodded.

As an obvious sign of trust, Milo followed Don up the stairs without Kait. But when she was left alone, the day finally crashed down around her. All the near tragedy that had happened in so short of a time brought her to tears curled up on the couch trying not to sob so loud that it would be heard by someone. She almost lost Milo, she almost lost the boys. After all the loss she had suffered, she hated the thought of losing anyone.

Through her tears, she didn't notice Don returning down the stairs. She didn't notice that he heard and saw her crying on the couch. He walked quickly to her, kneeling on the floor in front of her, gently resting his hands on her forearms. "Kait, what's wrong?" he asked quietly, trying to coax her to uncurl herself. "Kait?" he edged himself closer, his plastron touching her shins.

She sucked in a quiet sob as she latched her arms around Don's neck, holding him tighter than she'd held anyone in awhile. In that moment of him trying to comfort her, Kait let the last of the wall crumble, washing from her mind the words Karai had told her about the brothers. Don was here with her, and in that moment, she didn't want anyone else.

"I just don't want to lose you guys, or lose Milo. I was so close to losing everyone today." she managed to stutter to him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close as he gently rocked her back and forth.

Running a hand through her hair, he lifted her slightly and quickly turned so that he was on the couch and she was in his lap, almost like a child. But at that moment, he thought of her as the opposite of a child. "I know I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He told her softly, his chin resting on top of her head. "I know Milo's not going to leave you alone either. He cares about you too much."

"How do you…"

"I'm five inches taller than him and have him beat by a good thirty pounds, most likely, and he still almost punched me today because I was holding your hand." He chuckled slightly, adjusting his hold on Kait so that she sat more on his other leg. "That's care and commitment." He told her as he looked down at her, still fiddling with her hair.

Kait choked out a laugh, tucking herself tighter against his chest. "So I have one person that cares about me? How comforting." She sighed, looking at the pattern of the stitching of her pants.

Don moved her so that she faced him, his hands gripping her shoulders. "Kait, I wouldn't be here right now, like this, with you, if I didn't care."

Kait's hazel eyes widened drastically as she looked into Don's chocolate eyes. In the back of her mind, images from her dream started flashing. "Don, I…" she shook her head, unable to find the words.

His head sunk, misinterpreting her. He began to slide himself out from underneath her, trying to put space between them, but Kait gripped him tighter.

"Don, you're not the only one." She whispered, shyly looking down.

Don laughed quietly, gently pulling her chin up with his fingers. He loved her eyes, and didn't like that they were hiding behind her lashes. "This went so much better than Raph's confessional to Emily." He smiled a little.

Kait tried to laugh, but it came out as another sob. "But what are we supposed to do about it?" she asked quietly, looking up at him with those trusting hazel eyes.

But all he could do was shrug, keeping her close. "I honestly don't know. I can tell you what my brother did. I can tell you what I have wanted to do. But this is just you and me. If nothing happens, nothing happens. But at least I have my feelings out in the open; at least I have the truth out there."

Kait nodded, settling against his chest. "I can live with that." She told him quietly.

She sat there in his arms, leaning against his shoulder, her fingers working at gently untying Don's mask. Once it was off, they sat there, looking at each other and holding each other. In the wake of the confession, there was peace. No tension, no stress; only the care behind a tender touch and a warm smile. Within an hour, Kait's eyes began to flutter shut, her eyelashes blocking Don's view more and more every time she blinked.

"Get some sleep, Kait." Don whispered, his lips nearly touching her ear. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

Kait nodded, curling into his arms and letting her eyes close as she breathed in the slight scent of sandalwood from his skin. Don slowly slid so that he too was lying on the couch, his carapace cradled by the meeting of the back and seat of the couch. Kait required little coaxing to move so that she lay half on top of him and half beside him, her leg wrapped around his and her head wresting on his bicep.

"Good night, Kait." Don whispered, kissing the top of her head before she fell asleep.

Kait eyes opened to a different sensation than usual. Rather than the beeping of an alarm clock, she heard a gentle rumbling in her ear, saying her name again and again. As she opened her eyes, she stretched widely like she usually did as she started waking up. But rather than move on her bed, she felt that stomach dropping sensation of falling. But the fall did not last long as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. Her eyes shot open to Don's face only inches from hers. They were in his lab, which is certainly not where she fell asleep. Kait gave him a weak morning smile as she tried to stretch again, but found that he was holding her too closely.

"You have gotten very good at moving me while I'm asleep." She murmured quietly, knowing she was probably not at her most attractive at the moment, so being flirtatious was not in her best interest.

Don gave her one of his lopsided smiles as he sat down on the cot with her. "Well, you sleep pretty deeply every time I've been around you." He obviously had no problems being flirtation that early in the morning, judging by the deep rumble in his voice and the look in his chocolate eyes.

She mirrored his smile, experimenting with his strength while copping a feel of his muscles, she used his biceps as a handle to swing herself beside him. He was obviously impressed by her coordination. As a fighter, Don understood the difficulties that come from trying to move in relation to another person. It is one thing to do a motion, however complicated, and a completely different thing to do the same motion when there is an unpredictable variable, someone else's body and their motions. "I used to be in dance." She told him sheepishly. "Up until I was a senior in high school, I was bound and determined to dance professionally. But then I took an art class to get an advanced diploma and fell in love with it. So I put my dancing aside and majored in art in college."

"What kind of dance?" Don asked, a happy smile on his face. He was interested, truly interested, and that surprised Kait.

She shrugged, leaning against his arm. "All kinds. Mostly modern and ballet though." She didn't mind talking about her career change, she just hoped he didn't ask for a demonstration. She didn't think she'd be able to demonstrate the fluid, sensual motions she used in dance around Don.

"Will you show me some time?" he asked her hopefully.

Kait heaved in a theatric sigh, patting his leg. "I was just hoping you wouldn't say that." She gave him a smile all the same. She couldn't be mad at Don, especially not after the night before.

"Why?" he laughed quietly, concern leaking into his voice as he wondered if what she had told him the night before came with a few exceptions.

A blush worked up her cheeks as she thought about her response. "It's a bit of sensual thing. I always put too much body and too much sway into what I did. All my old teachers considered it a fault, but others considered it an appeal. I just don't want you to get the wrong impression of me." Not that it was really the wrong impression, she just ready to share the dream with Don quite yet.

Don nodded, looking at Kait's small body as covertly as he could. "I don't see how that would be a bad thing." He told her quietly. "But then again, I don't know anything about dancing. Zip, zero, nada."

Kait laughed a little and stood from the cot, pulling him with her. She knew her jeans and sweater weren't the most appealing outfit, but it would have to do. Don was taller than her usual partner, but she thought she could show him something to impress him. She guided his right hand to her hip, stepping close to him and holding his left hand and draping her other hand over his shoulder, gently cradling the back of his head.

"Follow my lead." She told him quietly, gently starting a set of easy but intriguing step she had learned years before. It was easy back and forth sway with a few foot movements. As much as she had hoped to show off a few of the spicier moves she remembered, Don had two left feet and there was no hope just yet for him.

Just as they started to laugh at Don's un-coordination, there was a deep throat clearing from the doorway. Embarrassed, the two dancers turned quickly to see who had been watching them. But it was only Leo, leaning against the door frame with a small smile on his face. "We've got breakfast ready when you two are done in here." He told them with a little jest in his voice. It was obvious, though, that he knew what was going on, but he seemed all for it.

Don nodded, glancing down to see whether Kait was ready to leave the privacy of the lab yet. When she nodded, Don released her and walked to his brother. "If we could keep this under wraps, we would…"

"No worries, Don." Leo whispered, patting his shoulder. "I'm on your side." He smiled to Don, and then Kait before he rounded the corner to return to the main room.

The two stood in silence for a few moments, looking at each other a little breathlessly.

"If we were to…" Kait couldn't find the right word to describe what she wanted with Don. Date just didn't feel right. Don nodded, understanding what she meant. "Would your family be against us?"

Don shook his head, smiling. "Mikey might be a little jealous. He thinks you're amazingly attractive. As do I, by the way." His voice sunk to the rumble that she loved to hear.

Kait nodded, biting her lip like she had the night before. "Don, I want to be honest with you about this." He nodded, but his stomach dropped. "I want to give _us_ a try, but not just yet. Heck, Don, I just broke free from Karai's brainwashing about you last night!" she took a deep breath, tentatively reaching up to touch his face. "I don't want you to get shortchanged by my emotional state."

Don nodded, gently resting his hand on top of hers. "I respect that." His stress decreased greatly with her suggestion. "Can I ask one thing in the mean time?" he asked quietly, standing very close to her. Kait nodded. "Let me see you, please."

She couldn't help but give him a blinding smile. "The last thing I wanna do is not see you, Donatello." She whispered, drawing even closer.

His face leaned down towards her, but he stopped a few inches away, chuckling to himself. "And I thought I would be so calm, cool, and collected when I finally found someone I cared about." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "That doesn't seem to be the case so far."

Kait giggled a little, quickly slipping from his grasp and walking quickly to the main room. She knew her face was going to be too bright, too excited, but Milo would probably be the only one who would notice the difference. But her trusted companion was not downstairs yet. Probably still asleep. That was normal for him, though. His escape from stress was always to sleep until it went away.

When she sat at the table, looking at the brothers sitting around her, she couldn't help but smile. Don was out of the lab a few moments later, his eyes resting on Kait. He sat opposite her, determined to keep her in his line of sight for as long as possible.

Mikey passed out the pancakes he had made for breakfast as they chattered about the expected leadership who would fill Karai's position. A few minutes into the conversation, Don cleared his throat. "I told Milo and Kait I'd watch them go out for a little bit. Milo isn't taking all this change too well." He glanced over at Kait, hoping he had phrased it well enough to not cast a dim light on her friend. Kait's opinion was now infinitely important to him.

Leo nodded, looking over at Kait. "Where are you two going?" he asked, with his logical leader voice back, rather than the kind, older brother voice he had used in the lab with Don and Kait.

"Milo wanted to go dancing, so we'll probably go to the Sullivan Room. It's in Greenwich Village. We used to go there all the time when we first moved up here, but we haven't gone in a little while." Kait told him, smiling at the memories. She always got attention there because she was a good dancer.

Leo nodded, as did Don. "Is there any place Don can watch you from?"

Kait though for a moment, concentrating on her pancakes for a few seconds. "I know a couple staff members that owe me a favor. It's pretty dark in some of the places. If we can get him covered a little I'm sure I can get him in." she looked over at Don, rather than Leo, for his acceptance of the plan.

"That seems like a feasible plan." Leo nodded. That was the end of the conversation, leaving them all to their own devices until it was done. Kait made a point to stay and help clean up. She was at the sink, cleaning the dishes when Milo trudged downstairs, rubbing his eyes.

"So it wasn't all just a dream." He mumbled, flopping himself down at the table.

Kait laughed a little, taking the food she had saved for him out of the fridge. "No, it isn't a dream." She made sure he was settled before she finished with the dishes. "Milo, can I talk to you sometime today?" she put the last of the dishes in the strainer and turned to him to wait for his answer.

He nodded, his mouth full of pancakes. When he swallowed, he cleared his throat of the syrup. "Sure. What's it about?"

Kait couldn't help but smile a little. "I need guy help."

Milo raised an eyebrow, giving her a smirk. "We're trapped down here with the reptilian Adams Family and you want to talk to me about a guy?" he busied himself with the pancakes for a little while longer.

Kait waited until he had swallowed so he wouldn't choke when she told him. "Because the guy I wanna talk to you about is down here with us." She smiled before loping off to Don's lab to see him.

He was hammering away at the keyboard for his computers, his headset on. She took the opportunity to sneak up behind him, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. Instead of jumping, one of his hands reached up to touch hers. Leaning back in his chair, he flashed her a smile. "Listening to the chatter from the Foot. Trying to get a read on who they're going to get to fill in the leadership position Raph just opened up for them."

She leaned down, putting her ear on the other side of his headphones. The words were nothing but a scramble of syllables. "Is that in another language?" she asked, not leaning away from him.

Don nodded a little, typing something else on his computer. "Japanese. It is a Japanese gang, after all."

"You speak Japanese?" she laughed a little, but was obviously interested.

He nodded, leaning his head back to look at her. "I just have a few more minutes of this. What do you want to do with this when I'm done?"

Kait shrugged, coming beside him and looking at all the information flashing across his screens. "Well, I was going to talk to Milo for a little. And I was hoping April could stop by my place to pick up an outfit for tonight. As for you and me, I'm going to leave it up to you. I'm still getting the hang of this 'you have a hot guy that will hit on me left and right if I let him.'"

"You think I'm hot?" Don's voice hitched a little, his eyes flashing over to hers.

She shrugged with a bit of a smirk. "More or less." She teasingly elongated her syllables.

"Come on, that's not fair." He griped, turning in his chair to face her. "Yes or no?"

Kait laughed, moving to the examination cot. "Why does it matter? It's not like you can…" she waved her arms at him.

Don clicked a few buttons on his keyboard and the data stopped flashing. He stood quickly and walked to her, getting up close to her faster than usual. His usual shy calmness had disappeared for the moment. "Kait, let me put you straight on this. I am as much a man in that respect as any man you have dated. I desire you, Kait, in every way possible. And I am perfectly capable of acting on that." He stayed inches away from her, his eyes burning into hers.

She was trapped there, locked in his eyes as her body nearly quivered with his proximity and his intensity. "Yes." Her voice shook a little.

Don smiled a little, until he saw that she was shaking. "What's wrong, Kait?" he backed away a little. "I didn't mean to pressure you or startle you."

Kait gently put her finger against his mouth. "You didn't. I was, uh, excited."

Don smirked a little, returning to his chair. "Now I see the appeal. I always thought Raph and Casey were crazy, to be that passionate about someone."

"Yeah, it's not that crazy, Donatello. It can make you crazy, though."

Don nodded, clicking his computer back to life. "My phone is on the desk. It has April's number. She's off today. I'm sure she wouldn't mind picking something up for you and Milo to go out tonight." He slid the headset back on and returned to the world of Japanese phone chatter.

So Kait called April, gave her the location of her favorite club dress and her makeup bag before handing the phone to Milo so he could tell April where some of his better clothes were. When she came back to the lab, Don was still working, so she quietly told him that she would be talking with Milo until he was done.

In the living room, Milo was crashed on the couch watching the news. "Can we have that guy talk now?" she asked, camping out with him. As she brought her knees under her chin, she could still smell the sandalwood from Don's skin on her clothes.

Milo nodded, heaving in a big sigh. "Kait, I was thinking about it. I'm tempted to send you to a therapist for caring about one of these _things_ as more than a friend. How could you feel something for them? They're turtles!" His voice had risen a little and unbeknownst to the two, Don was standing in the doorway to the lab, unable to keep himself from listening.

He saw her stand from the couch, glaring down at Milo. "_Who_ I care about is of my own concern. I was just hoping for your advice."

Milo heaved another sigh and pulled Kait down onto the couch with him. "Alright, which one of these guys do you have a crush on? Please tell me it isn't the one with the orange mask."

She couldn't help but laugh. "No, it's not Mikey. It's Don." She felt the blush coming up on her cheeks.

"The nerdy one?" Milo couldn't help but ask.

"He's not nerdy, Milo. He's smart and kind and caring. Which is more than I can say about you right now." She glared up at him, her annoyance apparent.

Milo just looked down at her for a few moments. He had known her since she was seventeen, and she was going to be twenty-seven in two weeks. It had been a long ten years, but he knew very well that for the majority of it, Kait had been emotionally alone. Especially after Greg left, Kait never really let anyone in. But here she was, opening her heart to an overgrown turtle. But he had to remind himself that she had known them longer than he had, and that if she opened her heart to one of them, they had to have something good going for them. "How do you feel about him?" Milo asked quietly, trying to force himself to be open. Ironic, coming from a bisexual man.

Kait's smile was shy but genuine as she thought about Don. "I feel so…so…alive around him. I feel noticed, appreciated, protected, and cared for. He excites me and intrigues me to no end and my heart starts racing when I think about him, about being with him." She expected Milo's disapproval, but she was only met by a small, warm smile.

"How does he feel about you?" He asked, even though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"He told me last night that he cared about me, and he told me this morning that he desires me." Despite the distance of time and space, Kait still remembered the look in Don's eyes as he caged her against the cot and told her that, her body still reacted.

That reaction was not lost on Milo, who smirked. "He seems to have everything you want." He patted her shoulder and went to get something to drink from the kitchen. "Go for it, Kait."

She smiled at him as she settled into the couch, lost in her own thoughts. Don snuck up behind her, propping his forearms on her shoulders. "So I excite you?" he asked quietly, his chin resting on her head.

Kait stiffened a little, turning to look at him and her face ending up only inches away from his. "Yes, you do. I mean, I had a very intimate dream about you even when I was trying to avoid you." Her mouth was working on its own and was apparently bound and determined to divulge all her secrets.

He smirked, but his usual shyness was obvious on his face. He sat down next to her on the couch. "Glad to know I'm not the only one." He told her quietly, slowly sliding an arm over her shoulders, adjusting so that she lay slightly against his shoulder, like he had often seen Casey sit with April.

"How long are we going to keep pretending we aren't an item?" Kait asked him, draping her legs across his lap as she turned to look up at him.

It surprised him how much self control it took to rest his hand on her knee. "That's all up to you, Kait." He told her shyly, revealing his dedication to her in his eyes. "I'm here for you any time of the day, any day, regardless if you call me your boyfriend or not." His small smile was comforting to her.

Milo took that as the inopportune time to return from the kitchen, almost dropping his soda as he saw the two on the couch. "Well, you certainly don't waste any time." He grumbled, sitting on the love seat.

Kait smiled, embarrassed. Don mirrored the same expression on his face until he heard a knock on the door. Before Kait could move off his lap, Don picked her up as he stood, gently setting her on her feet. "I'll be right back, and I will gladly finish where we left off in my room." He whispered in her ear before walked quickly to the door, leaving goose-bumps all over Kait's body. "Kait!" he called from the door. "April has your stuff." He returned to the living room with April, who had a bag in her hand, and a piece of blue fabric in his hands. "What is this?" he asked, an eye ridge quirked up.

Kait blushed and rushed to him, snatching it from his hands. "That is my dress." She hissed quietly, flopping back onto the couch, glaring at him playfully.

For reasons unknown to her, a blush started working up Don's cheeks as he sat down beside her. "I'm sorry, Kait." He murmured quietly.

"Why?" she whispered back, flashing him a little smile to try to calm him.

He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I thought it would be a little longer." He whispered, eyeing her long legs. She may have been petite, but the majority of her frame was leg.

Kait tried not to laugh as she tugged his arm, her world just revolving around herself and Don, completely ignoring April and Milo, who thankfully didn't notice the furtive exchange. "Come one, Don. I'll show you it covers everything just fine." She gave him a little smile before dragging him up the stairs to where he had shown her the bathroom was the other day. "Wait out here, I'll be right back."

Don nodded, resisting the urge to make a flirtatious comment, propping himself against the wall beside the door, waiting patiently.

Inside, Kait quickly stripped herself out of her clothes and slid into the blue dress, tugging it down around her legs so it fit right, pulling her hair out and trying to straighten it out in the small bathroom mirror. Hesitantly, she opened the door, sticking her head out to see if Don was still outside.

"Promise not to flip?" she asked quickly, suddenly self conscious of how tight the dress was.

When Don nodded, Kait opened the door all the way, letting him see. Shock flooded his face as his eyes widened. "Wow…" he managed to push out, looking at how the royal blue fabric hugged every curve of her body. He was jealous that the dress got to touch her and hold her when all he could really could was look and dream.

She spun quickly, her blonde hair splaying out around her. When she turned back to Don, he was only inches away from her. "What do you think?" she asked breathlessly.

"I think I want you to stay here tonight." He murmured quietly, his eyes boring into hers again.

"Why should I do that?" she asked, feeling herself being slowly backed against the cool tile wall.

He looked down for a moment, gathering himself to be daring for once in his life. "Because I want you all to myself tonight." He whispered, closing his eyes a little when he realized how stupid that made him sound. Kait stifled a laugh, making it even worse.

Before he could open his eyes, her hands were on his cheeks, pulling his head down towards her level. "If I wasn't bound by blood honor to take care of Milo," she whispered to him. "I'd be right here with you."

The self-restraint they exhibited was amazing as they both fought the urge to get closer, touch skin, touch lips. They were on a dry run, they told themselves, and this was just a chance to see what it felt like. There was to be no kissing yet.

Don backed away, dimming the electric tingle that had shot to life between. "You should change so you don't get anything on your dress. I'll meet you downstairs when you're done." He told her shyly before he quickly escaped the bathroom. Milo gave him a small smirk as Don plopped down on the couch, grabbing the remote from the human and flipping through the channels to find something interesting. Kait was with them a little while later, sitting next to Don, whose arm was across the back of the couch, conveniently where her shoulders were.

Several hours passed in good company between the brothers, Kait, and Milo. Kait and Don managed to keep a lid on their emotions enough to appear normal, even though Leo and Milo already knew better. Soon enough dinner came, although Kait and Milo abstained, knowing they would be eating at the club. It was notorious for amazing food, music, and atmosphere.

At nine, Kait in her dress, sky high black heels, a bit of bold makeup, and her hair in an intricately twisted half-up style was waiting in the living room for Don and Milo. Milo was still getting dressed in Don's room, and Don was hogging the bathroom. Milo came down first, his suave dress shirt tucked into a pair of fitted black jeans. His dress shoes looked expensive but they were still great for dancing. His hair was sideswiped a bit, highlighting the angles in his face. Don was the last one down, almost falling down the stairs as he looked at Kait. She looked perfect to him.

But at the same time, it almost crushed his heart that she was going dancing with Milo, not him. Don took a deep breath and walked to them quickly, motioning to the door. "Let's get going. I want to be on the street as little as possible."

They timed their arrival to just before the club opened, giving Kait and Milo the chance to talk to some old friends, convincing them that Don was a bodyguard because of a recent stalker, that he was to be left completely alone in a darkened staff only tunnel, and that no one was to know he was there.

So Don, in Raph's trench and hat, stood in the shadows as he watched Kait and Milo eat at the bar before the dance scene picked up. Kait looked so happy, laughing and talking with Milo, helping him fix his hair and shirt as he messed it up again and again.

He had to give credit to the two: Milo never touched Kait, which Don assumed was an understood male jealousy issue, and Kait constantly glanced over at him, reminding him that she wasn't forgetting about him.

But the credit disappeared once the dancing started. The floor wasn't packed, but it was busy and there was a lot of energy. Kait started dancing near Milo, using him simply as a prop to her dancing. He had underestimated her skill greatly when he saw her moving and swaying and bending. His blood started pumping as he watched her. At first it was out of arousal, but then it was jealousy. The DJ caught sight of her and played a song he had heard on the radio, a song about a dancer with a pink thong that sucks on her thumb while she dances. Kait, caught up in the moment, played along, ramping up the steam to her dance moves. The men around her loved it, the women around her hated it, and Don began to doubt himself.

Once the song was over, though, the doubt disappeared. Out of breath and a little red, she sashayed over to him, gently pushing him deeper into the shadows.

"What about Milo?" Don asked quietly.

She smiled a little, looking back into the crowd. "He found a hot guy and he's grinding on him. I decided I wanted to dance with you for a little." She gently nudged him against the wall, looking to see she hadn't been followed into the hallway.

"You know I don't know how to dance, Kait." He murmured, looking down at her suspiciously.

She flashed a smile that made Don's blood boil as she stood the step to close the distance between them, pressing her chest against his plastron. "All you have to do is hold on." She whispered, guiding his hands to her lower hips.

Don was shocked as the DJ played a fast song and Kait moved with it, moving against him, but it was the movement that drove him over the edge. After only a minute of the song, he pushed Kait across the hallways, his hands against the wall, his arms caging her in.

"I don't know about you," Don growled into her ear, his shyness blown away by his desire. "But I've dipped my feet into the water long enough. I think the water is just fine and I wanna dive in already."

Kait looked up at him, helpless. Her fears and doubts pounded against her heart, but its fluttering drove them all away to sulk in the corners of her extremities. "Dive in." she whispered.

She only had a moment to breathe before Don's lips crashed into hers.

**AN: I know it took me a little longer than usual, but I think the length should make up for that (this is 12 pages on my computer).**

**And to my readers that have been impatiently waiting for these two to wake up, I hope this satisfies.**

**But trust me, this will be far from smooth sailing. She isn't getting by any easier than Emily did, believe me. **

**As always, questions, comments, and concerns are always welcome. **

**Sincerely,**

**C M**


	11. Chapter 11

It was ten a.m. and Raph was finally rolling out of bed, rubbing his head as he hunted for his bandana and battle gear. He had been on patrol the night before with Leo and Mikey while Casey had come to the lair to stay with Emily and talk to her. Someone was always with her now, now that they thought she was closer to waking up.

With all his gear on, Raph trudged down the concrete steps to see who else was awake. Just like he had been for the past week and a half, Don was already in the living room, watching the news.

"How is she?" Raph asked quietly, plopping down on the couch next to him.

Don started, both because of the sudden company and the question. "What are you talking about?" his voice shook a little. Only Leo knew about Kait.

Raph chuckled a little, stretching on the couch. "I know where ya've been goin' every night. Ya've been goin' to see Kait. So how is she?"

Don looked over at his older brother. "She's doing really good. She is going back to work now, so is Milo."

Raph nodded, glancing at the door to Emily's room. "So how are the two of ya doin'?"

"Good. Really good." Don took a deep breath, a little unsure how much he should share. He hadn't talked to anyone about it yet. "We talk, I help her cook. I spend time with her. She falls asleep. Sometimes I stay with her. Then I come home. It's a very wonderful schedule for me."

Raph was laughing beside his little brother. "Come on, Don. How are things really goin' between the two of ya?"

A blush came up a little on Don's face. "Well, we aren't nearly as far as you and Emily were. But I know I want it. I'm just not sure about Kait. But she's working her way there slowly but surely."

"Have ya seen her tattoo yet?"

Don almost jumped off the couch. "What?" his voice broke.

"Kait apparently told April who told Casey who told me that she's got a tattoo."

Don was blushing. He knew it wasn't on her arms or legs, or the back of her neck. Or her lower back. Or her lower stomach. "No, I haven't. She didn't even tell me she had one."

Raph only laughed, patting him on the shoulder and levering himself off the couch, heading towards the kitchen to find some food. He knew that his younger brother was head over heels for the woman. And he was glad he wasn't the only one of his family that got to love and be loved. "Are you gonna see her tonight?" Raph called from the kitchen.

"Yeah." His younger brother called back. "Milo's coming by too. We're planning what she's gonna do for her birthday."

"Her birthday is comin' up?" Raph was still hunting for his food that morning.

Don nodded, even though he knew Raph wouldn't see it. "Friday. She'll be the same age as us then."

Raph also gave him an unseen nod. "I hope ya have fun up there wit' them." And at that he was gone, walking into the dojo with an apple in his hand.

Don floated through his day, exchanging the occasional text with Kait while she was at work and he was working on the computer, translating more chatter. It seemed like the foot was sending a whole committee of leaders to replace Karai, no longer trusting a single leader of the Foot.

As soon as the sun had set, Don was off through the sewers to Kait's apartment. He walked as quickly she could to get to her sooner. He missed her the entire day he was away from her. But every evening he got to spend with her made it worth it. He climbed onto the roof a few buildings away from her apartment building and jogged and jumped his way onto her roof, opening the picture window she always left open for him.

And there she was, sitting at the table, working on a few sketches. Her hair was knotted up in a lose bun, a few golden ringlets falling around her shoulders. She was wearing her house clothes, usually sweat pants and t-shirt, but she was still beautiful to him. She was so focused on her work that she didn't hear him come in, giving him a rare opportunity to just watch her.

Until Cujo started to meow loudly and rub against his leg, vying for his attention like she always did. He squatted down to pet her as Kait whirled around, a smile lighting up her tired face. "Hey, Don." She stood quickly and crossed the room to him, immediately and naturally tucking herself into his arms, her head resting under his chin. After their brief hug, she stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on his lips.

"How was work?" he asked, leaning in for another kiss. She gave it to him, letting him keep his arms wrapped around her.

She shrugged, opting to give him a third kiss rather than answer. Immediately, they were lost in each other. Even after over a week, they were still swept up by the other's touch. They would have continued if Milo hadn't let himself into her apartment, sighing heavily when he saw them.

"Really, guys? Really?!" he laughed as he dropped the take-out onto the counter top. Kait and Don stopped the passionate kissing to look at him, but did not separate. "Well," he sighed again. "I think it's about time we plan your birthday celebrations, Kaitlynn."

Kait's grimace made Don chuckle as he pulled off his mask. "You know I hate that, Milo. Just Kait. Bad enough Greg calls me Kaity." Don smiled again before he gently kissed her temple. ."But what did you have in mind, Milo?" she asked, turning so her back was pressed against Don's plastron, his arms around her waist.

He shrugged. "I mean, I know what you and I could do, but Mr. Turtle over here can't necessarily do with us." Don took his turn to grimace while Milo smiled innocently.

"How about a night in?" Kait suggesting, leaning against Don even more.

Milo shook his head theatrically. "That will never do. It's your _birthday_, Kait! We have to do something more than bake a cake and watch a DVD on your couch." He was pouting now, pulling at Kait's sensitive heart strings.

"Don," Kait was pensive now, turning in his grasp to look up at him. "Would you be alright if Milo and I went out, then you and I had our own little thing together?"

He nodded, kissing her forehead lightly. "Whatever will make you happy is perfect with me, doll." She smiled and he kissed her forehead again. "Then again," he gave her a smirk. "We could go back to my place and have a celebration with my family. I told Raph your birthday was Friday, so I'm sure he's telling everyone now that I'm out of the lair."

"Too many people." Kait shuddered. "I don't like it when so many people remind me that I'm getting older." She whined, taking her turn to pout.

Don gave her a warm smile. "You'll only be as old as me and my brothers, Kait." He told her quietly. "Please?" he whispered, kissing her ear.

Kait heaved a heavy sigh, theatrically surrendering. "Alright, Don, you win." She let him give her a peck on the lips before she turned around to talk to Milo again.

"I think I like your boyfriend more and more every day, Kait." Milo laughed, surprised don had managed to change her mind so quickly. "So, what kind of food do you want?" He asked Kait, pulling out the different containers of take out so they could start eating.

She shrugged, grabbing her box of fried rice and a pair of chopsticks and heading over the love seat, waiting for Don to take his customary seat beside her. When he did, she slid in beside him, her head finding his muscular shoulder instinctively. "We always go to Italian for lunch, so something other than that." She managed to get out around her food.

"How about that new Greek restaurant by the gallery?" he mumbled around his lo mien.

"Sure." Kait mumbled back, relaxing into Don's arms.

They ate in companionable silence for a little while, Milo just watching his best friend and her now boyfriend, a six foot mutant turtle named Donatello. Milo didn't stay around long after they had finished eating, claiming a need to take Gracie on a walk, leaving Kait and Don alone. Before Don could get too excited, Kait told him she needed to work on a new piece that night. So while Don was in the bathroom, Kait was setting up on the roof. It was a new moon and she wanted to try and capture it.

He was only gone a few minutes, but the apartment was awfully quiet when he closed the door. He couldn't even hear Kait moving around. He looked out the picture window and saw Cujo scratching to come in.

Kait would never shut Cujo outside, even if she was outside with her.

Instantly suspicious, he grabbed the bo from where it rested against her wall. "Kait?" he called, opening the window and letting the cat in before he climbed out onto the roof. His girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. "Kait?!" he called louder, pulling his bo into a fighting stance, fearing the worst.

No answer.

Resting on her bench was a note written in formal Japanese characters.

_Bring yourself and your family of monsters to the alley by the 10__th__ street pier. Hurry, or your whore will die_

Feeling a hate rising up in his chest that he was sure could rival anything that Raph had ever felt, his phone was out of his pocket as he began to run across the roof tops, heading towards the water front.

"Hello?" Mikey had picked up the phone at the lair one ring before it went silent. He had been asked by Raph to watch Emily that night.

"Mikey, call everyone on their pagers. They've got Kait. They'll kill her if we aren't in the 10th street pier alleyway soon. Bring Splinter and tell everyone to come. Now. Please." Don hung up before his younger brother could respond.

They only had a few minutes head start, so he thought he might be able to catch up with them, but there was no one around him as he ran and jumped to the water front, his heart pounding and his lungs burning when he finally came to a stop. The alley was empty, of his girlfriend and his family.

A few moments after he stopped running, there was a quiet thud behind him. "We got Mikey's page." Leo whispered, walking up behind his younger brother. "They got Kait?"

Don nodded, fighting tears of anger and fear. "I was in the bathroom. She walked onto the roof to set up for a painting. And in that time, they took her."

A calloused hand was placed on his shoulder. "We'll get her back, Donnie." Raph whispered, raw emotion in his voice. He knew what Don was feeling, and he knew it was the price to pay for them to love the women that they did.

Mikey and Splinter where there a few minutes later, making the Hamoto family complete. Quickly and silently, they jumped to the floor of the alleyway, looking around for whoever took Kait right out from under Don's nose. The alley was empty for several moments until a black car pulled up to block the open end.

All the men pulled out their weapons holding them at the ready. Out of the car stepped four elderly Japanese men, one of which dragged a bound and gagged Kait out of the car.

"Kait!" Don shouted, moving to go to her before Splinter grabbed his arm.

"Wait, my son." He murmured.

The four men in suits stepped out of the car, the one that had grabbed Kait holding her between him and the turtles.

"I am glad to see you actually care about this woman." The man in the front called out to them with a thick accent. "It makes you slightly less sickening."

"Why have you taken her?" Splinter called out to him, fulfilling his role of the head of the household.

One of the other men laughed. "We needed your attention. This seemed like the easiest way to gather you all here."

"Why do you need us here? Who are you?"Splinter was getting impatient.

The first man moved to speak again. "We are the new leaders of the Foot. And we are here to offer you a deal. Take this woman, and the one you have at home, and leave. Leave New York City and we will not follow. We will leave you to your twisted life. Leave now or we will kill you all by the end of the month."

**AN: Sorry this is a little shorter than the last chapter, but I think every chapter I ever write is shorter than that monstrosity. **

**And we're back to the cliffhangers, I know. Try not to kill me, please.**

**As always, questions, comments, concerns, feel free to review or send a PM.**

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS BORDERLINE M!**

**Not really, cause I've seen some PG-13 movies that show what I'm writing about. So if you can stomach the risqué parts of a PG-13 movie (which is what I equate to a T story), then you should be fine. **

**Well, consider yourself warned.**

"We won't leave you to…" Leo started before Splinter put a hand on his arm.

"We will take your offer. But it will take us time. One of our family is in no shape to be moved easily. We need at least a week." He offered respectfully.

One of the suited men nodded. "We are civil enough to grant you that. You have a week before we begin to hunt you down."

The one holding Kait threw her to the ground before they climbed into the car, peeling away quickly. Don didn't wait for permission before he ran to Kait, pulling her off the ground and into his arms, yanking the gag off her mouth and beginning to untie her wrists.

"You're safe now, baby." He murmured, running his hand through her hair and over her face, holding her close to him. "You're safe now, Kait. They can't hurt you anymore."

Her sobs scared him more than anything. Her crying made it clear that she was too terrified to form the responses she wanted to. She sobbed as she flung her arms around his neck after he had untied her wrists. She sobbed as he held her, rubbing her back, running his fingers through her hair. None of the other approached them. They, especially Raph, knew that they needed each other right now. That this could make or break their relationship. She had to believe that he would protect her. And he had to make it clear that he would.

She nodded against his shoulder, her sobs still going strong. "I don't wanna go home. I don't wanna go home ever again. They know I'm there. Please, don't make me go home." She whispered almost nonsensical into his ear.

He nodded, picking her up in his arms, her feet leaving the ground as he cradled her to his plastron. "Well, I had hoped to wait for this until we were father into our relationship, but you are welcome to move in with us. You can take my room and I can take the lab. You'll be safe. We can move your stuff into the lair. You can bring Cujo if you really wanted to." That elicited the giggle he had wanted to hear as he finally walked back to his family.

They all nodded to them, some patted his shoulder. They knew she was there to stay, then. She was officially part of the family. "Raph," Don looked to his brother solemnly. "I know you wanna be with Em right now, but I need you to go tell Casey and April what's up. We're gonna need their help getting her settled."

Without any complaint, or any words at all, Raph nodded and disappeared into the shadows on the way to Casey's apartment.

Don insisted on carrying Kait back to the lair. He refused to let her out of his arms. He had only had her to himself for a short while. He couldn't believe she was already being threatened because she loved him.

Kait clung to him tightly, her arms around his neck as a few tears fell onto his skin. She was terrified of what could happen to her, to them. She felt that her life put the brothers and their family in danger. She felt that her love put them all in danger.

It was a quick run to the lair, everyone wanting to be in the safety of their brick fortress. Don still held Kait in his arms, standing in the living room with his family. "Where can we go?" He asked quietly, readjusting his hold on Kait.

"The farm house?" Leo asked quietly, looking around at the others, gaining a collection of nods. "I'll call Casey in the morning, see about getting all of Kait's stuff here and getting Emily's equipment moved to the farm house."

They all dispersed quickly and quietly, searching for some sanctuary before the storm. Don pulled Kait even closer as he started walking up the stairs. "You can take my room. I'll sleep in the lab."

Kait shook her head slightly. "Stay with me, please. I don't wanna get left alone right now."

"Of course." He murmured, gently kissing her forehead. "There's a chair in there, I've fallen asleep in there before."

He opened the door gently and pulled himself inside with his charge in his arms. Suddenly ashamed of the disaster that was his room, he carefully set her on the bed, covertly pushing a towel onto the floor as he did so. Kait curled her legs underneath her, watching him try to push things underneath his bed so he wouldn't seem so messy, even though it was in his nature to throw things somewhere and only move it when he needed it again.

"Don," Kait murmured, following him with her eyes. "Don," he finally stopped fussing over his mess and looked at her. "Come here, please." She touched the edge of the bed beside her. He sat down heavily, reaching out to touch her hand.

"I'm sorry about all this, Kait. I'll keep you safe, I promise." He gently touched the side of her face, letting his fingers run through her hair.

She nodded, pulling against his side, needing to feel his comfort. "I trust you, Don. But right now, I need you."

Don took his cue and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. He ran his hand down the back of her head, feeling the softness of her strawberry blonde hair between his fingers, and running his hand down her back. He could feel the ridges of her spine through her thin t-shirt. He could feel the edges of her ribs as she took deep breaths, breathing in the scent coming off his skin. He started running his hand over her hip, feeling the soft terry clothe of her sweatpants. Kait didn't stop him, and Don knew that contact calmed her.

Taking a deep breath, he finally decided to talk about what happened. "Are you ok?" He asked softly as she nodded her head.

"Better now." She sighed as he moved closer to her, softly touching her arms and unfolding them from around her body. She watched him carefully as he kept his eyes locked on hers.

"Did they touch you?" He asked, his eyeridge creasing in concern as she hesitated to nod her head. He sighed and ran his hands slowly and softly up her arms. "I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner." He whispered as he looked away.

"Don, it wasn't like you could have prevented…"

"That's exactly what I could have done." He snapped as Kait moved away slightly. He took in a slow breath before raising his eyes to meet hers and letting it out. "I can't let it happen to you again." Don said, moving closer. Her body responded to his touch as he coaxed her closer, their chest touching. She looked away from his eyes, down his neck, to his chest and to hers as she met his eyes again with a soft smile. "I can't lose you." Don said softly as he placed his hand at the side of her face.

She tried to stop herself from crying but couldn't help it as a tear rolled down her cheek. It had been emotional night, too emotional, and she couldn't hold on to them any longer. She knew she couldn't be without him. Not right now. He was the only thing that was making her feel safe.

Looking down at his strong arms slowly fixing themselves around her waist, she let out a shuttered sigh looking back up into those beautiful chocolate eyes. Closing hers slowly, she moved her hands from her chest and placed them on his forearms. Slowly sliding hers hands up his arms, she felt every curve and crevasse of his muscles against his taunt skin.

Biting her lip she reopened her eyes on his as she let out another soft broken breath. She moved her body closer, leaning up towards him as he bent down sliding his cheek along hers. She closed her eyes again to the soft touch, feeling his warm breath wash against her ear. Her body trembled as he ran his hands up the small of her back.

"Kait…" He said softly as she nodded her head, not able to find the breath to speak. "I don't think I can stop." He whispered. She clenched her eyes shut; pressing her lips together to hold back a gasp as she felt his hands find their way under her shirt.

"I don't want you to." She said softly back against his neck as he took in a deep breath. She felt his chest rise against her as his hands quickly moved from her back to the back of her thighs and pulled her into his lap. She almost yelped as he held her tight against him.

She smiled, leaning down and pressing her lips tightly against his as her hands gripped his shoulder muscles. Don picked her up slightly, setting her down with her back on the bed as she smiled against his lips, slowly pulling back. He rested his forehead against hers as their eyes remained shut. Moving his hands from her back up into her hair, letting the soft stands run through his fingers as she smiled to the touch.

"Don, please tell me this isn't just a one-time thing." She said softly as he pulled back and opened his eyes on hers. He searched them for a moment before sighing and grazing his thumb across her neck.

"I don't know…I want…" He stopped with another sigh as she pressed him to go on.

"You want what?" She asked softly, leaning her face into his neck as her nose slowly grazed against it. He took a slow breath in from the touch as her lips touched his neck, kissing slowly down to his shoulder.

"This." He sighed softly as she smiled nodding her head.

"I want this too." She said as he shook his head.

"We can't."

"Says who?" She asked kissing her way back up his neck. He ran his hand over his head, trying to clear his thoughts and make himself think straight as a wave of pleasure hit like wild fire throughout his body from her lips touching his skin.

"Kaitlynn." He said softly as he pulled her chin up to look at him. As she did, her lips glistened in the candlelight gleaming in the room. He took in another calming breath before speaking. "You really want this?" He asked arching an eye ridge as she smiled and nodded her head.

"Donatello, I've wanted this, I've wanted you for a very long…" Before she could finish her sentence he pulled her lips on to his by her neck. She smiled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he pressed his body against hers tightly.

Don woke up the next morning to the strangest sensation he had ever woken to. His left side was awfully warm, compared to his usual coldness in the mornings. Trying to sit up, he found his left side weighed down by some unknown force. When his eyes finally struggled open, he saw her lying beside him, her head on his shoulder.

Kait was still completely unclothed, just like he had left her the night before. Her right arm was cradled against her chest while her left arm rested on his plastron. Her left leg was hooked around his under the blankets. Don's own left arm was underneath her head, gently touching her back.

He had found her tattoo the night before. It was on her upper left ribcage. It was a koi fish wrapping around a lotus. Don remembered everything from the night before, but it suddenly wasn't as pleasurable. She had needed him, but he took advantage of her, of her body. While he was thinking, Kait's eyes fluttered open and she started smiling up at him.

"Good morning, Don." She murmured, gently pecking his cheek.

"I'm sorry." It was the only thing he could think of, and he had to tell her.

Concern creased her forehead as she sat up a little, her chest pressing against his plastron. "About what? Last night?"

He nodded slightly. "I should have been supporting you, not…" he bit his lip, unable to continue.

She shifted, rolling to straddle him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Donatello, we both wanted his last night. You and I alike. Don't feel bad about it, please."

"But you were upset, in shock, and I…"

"Did what we wanted. What I wanted. What I want." She purred her last statement as she leaned down, pressing her lips to his.

Don growled low in his throat. In that split second, Kait had taken control of his body, bending his will to what she wanted, and she wanted his body again.

They were down for breakfast just shy of an hour later, Kait's hand held tightly in Don's. He never let her get more than a foot away from him, keeping her body within touching distance. His head was still in the clouds, and he knew she was too. His first experiences with a woman had come in quick succession and left him almost wobbly on his feet. He was happy when he was able to set down at the table, Kait only a few inches away. He waded through breakfast in a blissful haze, wondering if this was how Raph felt after all the times he had taken Emily to bed.

What must have been several minutes into the conversation, Don finally realized Kait was talking to Leo.

"Yeah, I can get all the essentials into a few boxes and throw Cujo into a backpack. I can take care of it all with just Casey and April." She told him, chewing on her bottom lip.

Don began listening more attentively, wondering if she meant moving into the lair or the farm house.

"Well, Casey and April are taking Emily ahead of time. Can you wait for a few days?" Leo returned thoughtfully, planning out the resources at his family's disposal.

She nodded slowly. "If I can just go get some clothes and my cat, then yeah, I can wait."

"You're Emily's size." Raph piped up quietly, looking across the table at her. "You can borrow some of her clothes."

"Thank you." Kait spoke just as quietly as he had, giving him a small smile. "And I can get Milo to bring Cujo home with him for a little while. His dog loves that cat more than I do."

The boys around the table nodded and Don wrapped an arm around her waist, squeezing her a little. "It's all gonna be ok, Kait."

She nodded slightly, leaning into his arms. The breakfast ended and they all went their separate ways with the exception of Kait staying within five feet of Don at all times. He was in the training room and she sat on the mat, watching him move, her eyes captivated by the motions he went through, his muscles straining in his concentration and control.

"Teach me." She called out to him almost an hour into his training.

Breathing heavily and sweating, he turned to her, confused. "Teach you what?" he asked, wiping his brow.

"That." She waved her hands in his direction.

He almost laughed, but stopped himself. He had to admit, that as outlandish as it sounded, she needed to learn as much about protecting herself as she could as fast as she could. When Emily joined the family, she already knew how to fight. Kait was joining them as a meek and quiet woman, so fragile that sometimes it looked like a heavy wind could snap her in half.

"Alright." He sighed. "We can start now if you want." He told her quietly, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her back, kissing her head softly. He felt her nod against him. "Let me go get some of Emily's clothes from Raph. I'll be right back, doll." He kissed her forehead before walking quickly to find his brother.

Don returned a few minutes later with a pair of Emily's athletic shorts and handed them to Kait. She checked the size on the tag and, sure enough, Raph was right, Emily wore the same size as Kait. Looking around, she quickly unzipped and dropped her jeans, pulling the shorts on quickly. Not quick enough, though, to keep Don's temperature from rising. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he helped her put her hair up into a ponytail.

"Excersize time." He smiled playfully and quickly tipped her chin, jumping backwards so she would chase him. As old as they were, for ten minutes they chased each other back and forth across the mat, laughing and giggling and lunging for each other until after several minutes Don caught her up in his arms, both of them breathing heavily.

"We need to start you with stretching." He murmured, taking her hand and leading her to the center of the mat, helping her sit down and push her into position.

It was slow going, her unworked body resistant to being pushed in different directions, but her muscles still remembered the movements from dance and started to cooperate after a few minutes. Don stretched her for almost an hour and a half, slowly working her more and more and farther and farther. It was almost intimate, the way he touched her and helped to move her body, but it only served to charge the air in the room.

When Kait was released from Don's first attempt to train her, she was sore and tired. She fell asleep in his arms on the couch, still in Emily's shorts.

For nearly a week, things progressed like this. Don slowly getting her body used to the motions of ninjitsu while joining her in bed t night. After a few days, she had all of her essentials with her as well, officially moving in with the boys.

They knew they had to leave, but there were complications with moving Emily. The farmhouse didn't actually have electricity, and Casey was having problems getting the generator to stay constant enough to support Emily's medical equipment. So five days after the warning, the family still hadn't moved. Most of their belongings were at the farm house, but they were still in the sewer.

Don was anxious. He didn't like keeping Kait this close to harm's way. They only had a day before the Foot's time limit was up. He was especially nervous when Kait was called to the surface. Milo had called earlier that day, something about Cujo getting into something she shouldn't of and needing to be taken to the vet.

"I'll be back before you know it." She murmured, kissing Don's cheek, squeezing his biceps.

He nodded sadly, holding her close for a moment. "Call me when you get to the vets and when you leave the vets. I'll be waiting right here for you when you get back to it, ok?"

She nodded slowly, looking at the manhole above them. She was right by Milo's house at this point so she could pick up her cat and take her to her favorite vet, Dr. Ortega. She was known to keep odd hours and was good with critters with personality.

Milo was happy to see her, pulling her into a tight hug and handing her the tote bag full of pitiful cat. She was meowing and whining and mopping in her padded carrier. Quickly, though, she was out of Milo's town house and onto the streets walk quickly to the vet's office. In ten minutes, she was there, feeling terrified but otherwise unscathed.

The receptionist took the cat from Kait so she could bring her back to Dr. Ortega, giving Kait a chance to call Don. Unfortunately, there was a small terrier barking his head off inside the waiting room, so she stepped outside to call Don. In the setting sunlight, the city was bathed in red, looking ominous to her as she waited for Don to pick up his phone.

"Hey, babe." He sounded relieved, making Kait smile. "Did you make it there alright?"

"Yeah, I didn't notice anyone following me and I didn't even see anyone."

"Good. Call me when you leave, Kait."

"Sure. Bye Don. Love you."

"You too." She clicked the phone shut and turned to walk back into the vet's office when she felt something clamp down over her face and pull her sharply backwards.

**AN: Yeah…Well…I warned you. **

**And yes, I know, another cliffhanger. And yes, I know, you're probably all sick of Kait getting snatched.**

**Things are about to get interesting, just saying. **

**As always: questions, comments, and concerns are loved!**

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	13. Chapter 13

Don let the phone go to voicemail for the fifth time. "Hey, Kait, it's me. Please, _please_ call me when you get this. You have me worried sick."

He ended the call to her voicemail and instantly flipped through his contacts and started another call.

After three rings the phone was answered. "Milo Evans." Came the man's automatic response.

"Milo, it's Don. I'm worried about Kait. It's been three hours and I haven't heard anything from Kait yet. Has she called you or anything?" He knew his voice was anxious, but he couldn't help it.

"No, she hasn't. I can go to the vet's office and check on her. But it shouldn't have taken this long. I'll call you when I find something out."

"Thank you, Milo."

Milo hung up the phone and walked quickly to the vet's office, looking for Kait or any sign of her. But in the ten minute walk, there was nothing. When he pushed open the door, Dr. Ortega was already waiting in the office, her face contorted in worry. Dr. Ortega was Milo and Kait's favorite vet. She always knew how to handle their spunky and often difficult pets, much less their owners. Milo also joked that that Kait liked going there because Dr. Ortega made her feel tall, the latter woman only a few inches over five feet tall. She had her dark hair up in a bun, a few strands sliding out, and her skin was paled in tiredness as she looked at him, disappointed.

"Where's Ms. Dawes?" she asked, her voice a combination of exasperated and worried.

Milo's breathing hitched as he tried to come up with an excuse on the spot. "She had to, uh…" It was too late at night for him to be conniving. "Handle something with a family friend." That sounded believable. "She sent me to make sure Cujo was alright."

Dr. Ortega was having none of that. "She didn't even tell the receptionist. She went out to take a call and just never came back in."

"Uh, yeah…" Milo fished. "That was the friend…the family friend…that she had to go deal with." He pointed out the door; his nerves making him play a game of charades.

She came around the counter and stood face to face with Milo, her little self intimidating. "If something happens, I will call the cops. They deserve to know if something happened to her. If you care about your friend, you would too."

Milo violently shook his head. "Dr. Ortega, please, you've got to believe me that's she's okay. She just isn't where we all thought she would be. The cops are the last ones that would be able to help us. So please, just tell me how Cujo is doing and I will be out of your hair." His hands had come up in front of him, almost pleading with her as his heart thundered in his chest.

With a deflating sigh, she nodded. "She's fine now. We had to pump her stomach. Not sure what she ate, though, so we'll keep her for tonight. Ms. Dawes can come get her in the morning, if she's where you think she will be by then." The point of the comment hit home in Milo's pulse.

He gave her a nod and a mumbled thank you as he backed out of the office, back to the street, his phone already coming out of his pocket to dial Don.

"Don."

"Yeah, it's Milo. She isn't at the vet's." Milo sighed, hating to be the bearer of bad news as he trudged back to his house.

"What?!" Don let out before he could control it. Milo heard him take a deep breath. "I'll get groups to go looking for her. Please keep your phone on in case she tries to call you." He could hear a slight shaking in Don's voice.

Milo nodded, even though Don couldn't see it. "Of course." He breathed. "Keep me posted. I'm as worried about her as you are."

"Alright." Don ended the call and left Milo with static in his ear.

Don dropped the phone onto the desk, running his hands over his head in frustration. Slowly, he stood from his chair and shuffled into the living room, where the rest of his family was sitting, nervously waiting for the news about Kait.

"We don't know where she is." He mumbled, dropping himself onto the couch.

Leo nodded. He was the calmest of them all. "Then let's get groups out to look for her." He stood, walking up the stairs to take his swords off the wall of his room.

Despite Don's panic, Leo's certainty calmed him a little and he followed his brother's example and took his bo out of his room and waited in the living room for everyone else.

When all four were congregated, Leo assigned them into two groups: Mikey with himself and Raph with Don. They would separate to scour the borough to find her.

It had been two hours, and there was no sign of her anywhere along where she could be, even where she wasn't supposed to be. Don wanted to keep looking, but a downpour pulled him back to the safety of the sewers with his brothers.

She could hear the rain pounding on the stone building around her. She could hear her own breathing. She could hear them talking outside of the room. She could feel the ropes around her wrists, bound behind her back, the rope around her ankles, the cold stone beneath her, and the sack over her head. She couldn't see anything in the dark of the room and beneath the sack and she couldn't understand the voices.

Kait wasn't a very religious person, she never really had been, but she felt the need to begin praying in hopes that anything could help as she sat in what she thought was the lair of the Foot. Her mind was surprisingly forthcoming as she dug through her memories to remember her childhood prayers.

"Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother…"

She would have kept praying, more of a whisper to herself and what might have been listening, but she head a dragging, sliding sound somewhere in the room. She paused for a moment, holding her breath to create silence in the room. When no other sounds permeated the still air, she continued.

"To thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer them. Amen." Even in the pitch black, she closed her eyes, wishing it wouldn't do any harm to hope.

There was a harsh cackle in the room with her, almost making Kait scream and jump off the floor. The laugh was the embodiment of every witch she had ever seen in a movie, the sound alone making Kait's skin crawl. "How dare you call to our Blessed Mother!" A sandpaper voice shouted in the darkness. "How dare you defile Her prayer with your filth, you harlot!"

Kait would have retaliated, but she was too terrified as she sat trembling on the floor. She wanted to protect her honor, so to speak.

As scared as she was, though, the witch gave her a clue. She was among fellow Catholics.

Long, thin, cracked hands grabbed Kait around her upper arms and dragged her to her feet, pushing and pulling her simultaneously out of the room, or so Kait assumed. She could suddenly see light on the other side of her hood as she stumbled out of what had been her corner of the world. The voices were louder and closer, allowing Kait a clearer sense of the conversation, but still no words could be understood. She listened closely until the witch suddenly pushed her down, her stomach dropping as she crashed to the floor. Kait couldn't help but call out as her arms and hips took the brunt of the impact.

"I have brought the monster's mistress." The witch called to someone else.

Kait couldn't help but assume they knew she was sleeping with Don. "He isn't a monster!" she shouted out of reflex, fighting for Don despite her nerves and fears.

She heard a man laugh somewhere to her right. Despite the sack still being over her head, she turned in his direction. "I did not believe them, did not believe that suck demons existed and that they could tempt someone of the Faith into their berth. But then they showed me pictures that were undeniable evidence of your sin."

"The Foot." Kait hissed. They were a day early.

The man laughed again. "Yes, they did mention that they were from the Foot."

The hood was yanked off her head and she was exposed to the harsh light of hundreds upon hundreds of candles. As she blinked her eyes to adjust to the light, she saw an old, dilapidated church come out of the glare. She was surrounded by old women—witch a still very apt description-innun get ups as well as an aging priest, who currently leaned over her.

"Hmmm…" the priest rumbled to himself, looking at her. "I wouldn't be surprised if she seduced the demon herself!" he shouted to his congregation.

"He's not a demon!" Kait tried to shout back, but her voice was broken with fear.

The priest kneeled down to her level, smoothing out her hair. "Are you sure?" he murmured, like he spoke to a child. "How can you deny that he told you lies to bed you, to corrupt you, to spread his seed in you?"

"They can't have children." She shot back, bitter. Don had told her the entire story behind Emily's capture, so she knew the sad truth about their quasi humanity.

The priest leaned even closer. "Did he tell you that before he took you to bed?" he whispered to her. "What will he tell you when he meets you at the gates of Hell?"

Suddenly, his hand was around her throat as he dragged her to her feet. "Tie her to the cross beam!" he shouted to the congregation around him.

Two of the witch-nuns grabbed her arms and dragged her across the main room. The voices were getting louder, and the women were chanting a familiar prayer. "Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle." Kait was forced onto her knees and her arms extended. "Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil." She heard the grunt of women and the screech of a heavy weight on stone. "May God rebuke him, we humbly pray," The weight, a wooden beam, was pressed against her shoulders. "And do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God." Ropes began to wrap tightly, painfully, around her upper arms and wooden beam. "Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls." She was thrown onto her back, fastened to the beam. "Amen."

Don, in his last ditch attempt at trying to find his love, climbed up the fire escape to her apartment. He let himself in through the window into the dark and empty apartment. Most of her things still sat there, only her essential belongings lived with her in the lair.

He looked around him, not sure what exactly he was looking for, but having a feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was there.

And then he saw it, a note stuck to one of Kait's beautiful paintings. Scrawled in perfect Japanese was a strange note, which he read quickly.

_It is about time that your family answered for itself. That includes the new woman you have claimed for yourself. Did you know she was christened Catholic? Let her faith decide her fate. _

Don shoved the paper into a pouch onto his belt as he went running out to the roof and down the escape to reach his family. He already had an idea of where she could be. A few years before even Emily had met the boys, there was a cult that had discovered them. They were exuberant Catholics that chose to focus on the fire and brimstone of their religion. The boys had dismantled the cult, sending most of the members to the hands of the police on charges of torture and attempted murder. But the priest that led them, as Don remembered as he ran to the lair, had a younger brother, also a priest.

He burst through the door once Mikey opened it, panting from his long run. "The cult." He gasped out, trying to catch his breath. "The Foot gave her to the cult." He handed the note to Leo to disseminate the information to the others.

His older brother nodded, handing the note to Splinter, who had come out to main room to wait for Don. "Do you think they're arrogant enough to still be at the old church we found them at?"

Splinter nodded. "I think they are pompous enough for that, my son." He looked amongst his brood of sons, seeing their strained emotions. "We will search tonight. Bring your weapons, expect a battle." His voice was calm and quiet as he laid down the family's decision in one fell swoop. He walked calmly to his room and took his own staff off its place on the wall before he rejoined his anxious sons. "Let us leave now. Tell Casey to take Emily tonight. We have no choice any longer."

Don nodded and pulled out his phone to call their human comrade.

Kait heard them approach her secluded corner of the church, chanting in Latin. At this point, what must have been several hours after they tied her to the beam, she knew what was going to happen to her. She knew what was to be her fate. And as they came for her, she couldn't help but begin to cry, the tears sliding down her cheeks and side of her face.

They pulled her to her feet, having to mostly hold her up as she shook under the weight of the beam that weighed nearly the same as her whole body. As the Latin continued, they led her to the crumbling altar. Erected in front of the Crucifix was a tall wooden pole.

It was nearly midnight when the family found itself outside the crumbling church from which they had pulled the cult four years before. As Splinter had predicted, the main room was flooded by candlelight. With a signal from Splinter, they all moved in, pushing through a broken door.

A few of the more spry nuns pulled her onto the altar, in front of the pole, pushing the beam against the upright. The Priest climbed up with her, wielding a hammer and a long nail, which he drove through the beam into the upright. Kait's tears picked up to a downpour as his chanting grew in fervor and volume, almost shouting in her face.

A witch handed the priest another nail. The tip was put in the palm of her left hand.

Don heard a woman's scream. Bloodcurdling, pained, terrified. In the pit of his stomach, and in his heart, that it was Kait.

But they were still a room away from the candlelit cathedral room.

Another scream, equal to the last, came a few moments later.

Don was running now, breaking from his family.

Another scream.

And then another.

There was silence when Don pushed open the door into the main room, running headlong towards her.

Kait heard the door fling open behind her. And she knew, in the pit of her stomach, and in her heart, that it was Don.

"Don!" she screeched, her voice garbled by pain.

Don ran straight to her voice, straight past the cult members, pushing them to the side. He pushed the priest out of his way as he reached the altar.

With blood dripping down to the floor from her hands and feet, her head pressed back against the wood in pain, nailed to a wooden cross, was his Kait, barely hanging on to the threads of consciousness.

**AN: I'm back!**

**And so is Kait, well, kinda….**

**And chaos has in sued! Mwahahaha! Sorry…**

**So, I know the end is choppy, but it's supposed to be. You know, symbolism and all. Stress makes for lack of coherency. **

**And more is to come, of course. But in the mean time, questions, comments, and concerns are loved. **

**Oh, and if I offended any Catholics cause I made the cult a bunch of Catholic psychos, it was not intended. I picked the religion because I am Catholic so I know the prayers and stuff. **

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	14. Chapter 14

There wasn't much of a fight to be had, despite Splinter's expectations. Raph tackled and held down the priest while the witches ran out of the building, screaming and shouting prayers. The struggle came to trying to get Kait down. She had lost consciousness almost immediately after Don reached her, which terrified her boyfriend even more. Leo, the tallest brother stood on the altar, holding Kait around the waist to take the weight off the nails in her feet and hands.

Mikey had been sent to find fabric that they could use to cover her wounds once they got her off the cross, Splinter had called April to come get them while Casey took Emily to the farm house.

Don was the one tasked with taking the nails out of Kait's body. He had already pulled the ones out of her feet and was working on the one in her right palm. His hands were covered in her blood and his head was swimming with worry. Don moved around Leo on the altar, pulling out the last of the nails and dropping it to the floor.

"Leo, I'm gonna take her weight, use your katana to cut the rope." Don told his older brother quietly.

Leo nodded, letting Don wrap his arms around Kait's waist. Within moments, Kait was free from the cross and being handed to Leo, who had hopped off the altar. Mikey ran over, holding a piece of cloth. Leo cut it into four pieces, handing them to Don who had joined them on the floor. He was quick to tie them tightly around her injuries, hoping it would stop the bleeding long enough for them to get back to the lair, where all his medical supplies lived.

Don held her head in his lap as he gently ran his fingers through her hair, waiting for April to come or for Kait to wake up. Raph, who had handed his duties over to Leo, came over to him, kneeling beside his younger brother.

"At least we found her quickly." He murmured quietly, gently patting Don's shoulder. His brother nodded, still holding onto Kait. "She's gonna be okay, Donnie." He tried to reassure him, but Don only nodded again. "Not too long and she and Em are gonna be gangin' up on the two of us and drivin' us crazy, but we'll still love 'em to death."

That got the smirk that he was trying for out of Don. "That sounds surprisingly terrifying." He mumbled.

Kait remained unconscious for the minutes that passed waiting for April, driving Casey's old van, drove to the church. An unconscious priest was thrown in as the others piled in, Don carrying Kait in his arms. April was told of what happened by a very pensive Splinter.

"I can help change her clothes into something more comfortable for her." April piped up from the driver's seat.

"It's ok, April. I can get her comfortable while I treat the injuries." Don told her quietly.

"Are you sure she won't mind?" April asked, thinking Don was just in shock and not thinking about what his girlfriend might think.

Don took a deep breath, trying not to look at his family. "She won't. I've seen her in more compromising situations." He mumbled, feeling the blush work up on his face.

Mikey threw up his hands in defeat. "Raph, I understood how you got some action. You're kinda like the tall, dark, and handsome guy all the human girls want. But Donnie?! You're a complete geek! How come you can get some hot human tail and I don't get anything?" His pout would have been laughable if it wasn't for the situation they were all sitting in.

Raph gave his brother a smirk, patting his shoulder again. Don only shrugged to his younger brother's complaints. "I don't know why she picked me, Mikey. But I love her, regardless of what's happened between us. But I couldn't protect her. So now I will do everything I can for her."

Mikey only nodded, his concern for his family outweighing his frustration. It was a short drive to the manhole closest to the church, the safest place for the family to enter the sewer. Almost everyone offered to carry Kait as they traveled through the tunnels to their home, but Don refused every offer. She wouldn't be much over a hundred pounds soaking wet, and Don was easily strong enough to carry her for a long time. Besides, he didn't want to let her out of his arms. It was reassuring to feel her chest rising and falling with every breath against his plastron.

They didn't run, like they usually would, for fear of jostling Kait too much, so the brisk walk took longer than they thought it would. But it gave them an opportunity to talk about what they should do. April told them that Casey was almost at the farmhouse with Emily, and he was going to call as soon as he got there and got her settled. It was decided, mostly by Splinter and Leo, that they would all leave that morning, and send Casey back to the city. April and Casey would be asked to keep an eye on Milo as well as start looking for a new place. The turtles would be coming back eventually, but they felt a new home would be a safe bet.

Soon enough, they were at the lair, and Don was rushing Kait to the lab. Raph followed him, being the second most versed in medical procedures, often having to use it on Emily. He was also the only one that understood the torture Don was running himself through in his head for letting this happen to Kait.

"What do ya need, Donnie?" Raph asked his brother, using the nickname he hadn't used since they were teenagers in an attempt to keep him in a better mood.

Don glanced up, sparing his brother a smirk, his way of telling him the effort was appreciated. "In my room, in her suitcase, she has some more comfortable clothes. I need you to get a pair of her sweatpants, a t-shirt, and um…underclothes." Don was obviously uncomfortable, but the fact it was Raph, who had a human fiancé, made it more palatable.

Don took a deep breath and turned his attention to his still unconscious girlfriend. The shock and pain of the crucifixion had caused her body to shut down, to protect what was absolutely vital. He found his vial of pain medications and injected her first, hoping to give her comfort in case she awoke suddenly. Raph returned by time he had finished, holding a folded pile of clothes.

"Need a hand?" he asked gently.

Don nodded. "I got to see your girl, after all." He couldn't help the joke. His older brother punched him lightly in the arm.

"I'll close my eyes for the important part, deal?" Raph offered, knowing the difference between Kait and Emily as well as Don and himself. Emily had allowed herself to be exposed during the miscarriage fiasco because Don was basically the doctor in the family. Raph was not in that position, but he thought Kait would understand.

His little brother nodded and started working at the buttons on her shirt. As dexterous as he was, it was difficult for him to manage the small buttons.

"I got it." Raph told him, nudging him aside. "I've got a bit more practice than ya do." Raph made quick work of the shirt while Don worked at the jeans.

Raph was gracious enough to not try and take off Kait's shirt, instead letting Don do it. Don was surprisingly not uncomfortable with Raph helping him clean Kait's injuries while she lay on the cot in mix matched unmentionables. They were both focused on their work, Don cleaning and bandaging her hands while Raph worked on her feet. They both were assessing the damage and knew that this was beyond their expertise.

Raph left the room while Don finished changing Kait's clothes to call Doctor Perry, just to get him to look at the injuries, to see what he could do. Don had just slid Kait's shirt over her head when he felt her begin to stir. Don stopped his dressing and stood beside her, gently running his hand over her hair.

"Kait?" he murmured quietly, kissing her forehead.

She mumbled something unintelligible, but it made Don break into a relieved smile.

"I'm glad you're back, babe." Don kissed her again, waiting for her eyes to open up.

Within moments, he was looking at her gorgeous hazel eyes again. "Are they gone?" she whispered.

Assuming she meant the cultist, he nodded. "You're safe now, Kait. Doctor Perry is coming to take a look at you, to see what he can do."

This brought the shadows to Kait's eyes. Almost mechanically, like they weren't her hands, she pulled her hands up to her face, looking at the bandages. And then the tears started to stream down her face. "I can't curl my fingers." She managed to get out. On her left hand, her ring and little finger remained extended while the other fingers were only curled to a degree. Her right hand was the opposite.

Don couldn't help but feel her pain. She was an artist, and her hands were seriously injured. He sat on the cot, propping up her torso in his arms "It's all gonna be ok, Kait." He waited for her to nod before he continued. "Try and move your toes now."

Her eyebrows pulled together in frustration before she hissed in pain, but her toes did not move, none of them.

Don nodded solemnly and slid off the cot. "Come on, you, let's get you in some pants before the Doc arrives."

"He's the one that helped Emily, right?" she asked as Don navigated her body to slide the sweatpants over her legs. He nodded and helped her get situated and wait for Perry.

He was there within an hour, despite it being two in the morning. In the meantime, everyone except Don and Kait was packing their belongings. Barring a hospital stay, they were leaving that morning. Doctor Perry walked himself to the lab, being familiar with the layout because of several trips to check up on Emily. He had never met Kait personally before, but he had actually visited the gallery with his wife. But for her to be involved with his favorite turtle, she had to be a decent woman.

Perry gave her his best bedside smile as he entered the room, shaking Don's hand and reaching to shake Kait's before he saw the bandages. "I take it you've already cleaned them, Donatello?" he asked clinically.

He nodded, smoothing out an errant cowlick in Kait's hair. "Raph cleaned the injuries on her feet and had the same impression I did with her hands, it's real bad, Doc."

"May I?" he asked Kait, rather than Don. She nodded gently, extending her left hand to the Doctor. He carefully removed the wrappings form around her delicate hand and peeled off the gauze. Kait hissed a little and Perry saw Don hold her a little closer. "Can you move your fingers for me, Ms. Daws?" he asked, his eyes trained on the gapping hole in her hand.

"Kait." She murmured quietly. "And I can't, not really."

Perry looked up at her in concern. "Then please do the best you can."

Kait nodded and tried as hard as she could to close her hand into a fist. Just like before, her ring and little finger did not move while her middle, pointer, and thumb closed about halfway.

"Donatello, can you give me a flashlight?" Perry asked, gently touching her fingers, looking for nervous response. When he had the tool in question, he shined it into the injury. "Well, the tendons are only perforated, not torn." Don nodded, knowing that perforated tendons would heal. "I can't speak for the nerves, though. While I believe that you will regain movement in these two fingers, I can't say anything about feeling."

He repeated the investigation on her other hand and both her feet and came to the same conclusion, it would heal eventually, with only minor permanent damage. Perry told her that if she had been on the cross much longer, the damage could have been permanent. Perry left just before four in the morning with a promise from Don to keep him updated on the condition of both the women.

Kait was nearly asleep by time Don returned to the lab to carry her to the living room. There was no way she could put weight on her feet at that point. When he came into her view, she spared him a small smile. "Hey, you." She murmured quietly, reaching out to touch his cheek with the three good fingers on her left hand.

He mirrored the movement to her. "I'm so sorry about what happened, Kait. Please forgive me for not being able to protect you."

She smiled a little bigger, resting her finger numbly on his lips. "Donatello, I can't forgive you because I don't blame you. The Foot told them about you and me."

"But you were taken because you're involved with me." Don insisted.

Kait nodded, surprising him. "And Emily was attacked because she loved Raph. Loving you guys comes with a price, but it's a price I'm willing to pay to be with you, Donatello."

His smile was small, but genuine as he shyly sat beside her. "Ready to go into the living room? I'll go pack our stuff and Raph will keep an eye on you."

She nodded again and let him wrap his arms around her, lifting her up against his chest until he deposited her on the couch. Raph took up the vigil and sat on the armrest by her head.

"Yer gonna be okay, kid." He told her solemnly. "And when Em wakes up, she'll like ya that much more cause ya've got some scars ta show off."

"You really love her, don't you?" Kait couldn't help but ask. In all the time she had known Raph, this was the first time he had willingly spoken to her about Emily.

He nodded with a smile. "I proposed ta her, after all. And I put up wit' her dad." He was glad he made her giggle with that last comment. "But yeah, I love her. I can't wait for ya to meet her."

Don was back in a few minutes, two suitcases in hand. One was Kait's and one his. He put them in the pile with everyone else's stuff before he went to pack up the lab, specifically the medical supplies. April arrived right around then to help them carry everything to the van, which was parked above the nearest manhole with a ladder. When Don returned, he started talking with Raph about a tag team effort with which to get Kait out of the tunnel.

Within minutes, Don was again carrying Kait in his arms. But this time, she was awake. After a precarious carry and pass of her up the ladder between Don and Raph, everyone was in the back of the van, settled in for the long drive to the farmhouse.

Kait was asleep by time they pulled up to the house, and Don made sure not to wake her and he carried her upstairs. Executive decision between the brothers put Raph and Emily in one bedroom, Kait and Don in another, Splinter in the third, and Leo and Mikey in the living room. Raph helped don by throwing a sheet and a pillow down on the bed so Don could put her down and get all their things situated before crawling in with her.

Don awoke early the next morning with quiet crying in his ear. His eyes blinked open to Kait trying to be silent as her eyes were scrunched shut. Don shifted instantly, cradling her in his arms. "What's wrong, Kait?" he asked quietly, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

"It hurts." She whined pathetically, unable to really think of much else.

Don nodded, sliding off the small bed and hunting around for the pain medication, preparing a second injection for her. Even twenty minutes after the shot, she was still shaking and crying with pain, so Don decided to treat the injuries themselves.

"One sec, love. Let me get Raph to give me a hand with this." Kait nodded just before he slipped out of the room, padding to the bedroom next door and knocking quietly before opening it.

Raph was sitting up as Don stepped in. Emily's bed and equipment was set up on the other side of the room, and she remained as still as ever. "Whatcha need?" Raph slurred with sleep.

"Kait woke up crying because of the pain, so I wanna try putting some topical anesthetic on them after we clean them for the day. Your help would be appreciated." Don told him quietly, even though Emily was in a coma, not asleep.

Raph left the bed and walked over to his brother. "Ya know," he whispered to Don. "It felt great ta sleep wit' her in the same room again."

Don smiled, patting Raph's arm as they left his room, letting the door click behind them.

_Click_. The sound echoed in her ears and her mind, quiet and deafening at the same time.

Other sounds started permeating the silence. High pitched beeps, low whirls, and steady swishing entered the darkness.

She knew sounds weren't the entirety of the world. She knew she should be feeling things as well. Softness over her skin, cold in her forearm, cold on her forehead.

She should be seeing things, but her eyes weren't working quite yet. With a deep, sharp inhale, her eyes struggled open. Stained and peeling paint was all she could see in front of her. There was a screen on either side of her in her peripheral.

Where was she?

She didn't know, which scared her. It scared her because she knew, deep in her mind, that being somewhere she didn't know was dangerous, deadly.

Who was she?

For a moment, there was a pause as she searched through her mind. She knew who she had been, a fighter, a daughter, a friend, a lover…

And there it was, a whisper in the dark from lover's lips, a name. In a memory of cool skin and warm sheets and sandalwood, she found her name.

_Emily. _

**AN: Dun dun dun!**

**She's awake!**


	15. Chapter 15

Raph walked back into his room, rubbing the last bit of sleep out of his eyes.

"Raph?"

He froze, swiveling to his right, where the hoarse, raspy whisper had come from.

Blue. Oh so glorious blue eyes blinked at him from a few feet away.

Raph's knees began to shake as tears welled out of his eyes. "Emily!" he almost shouted as he stumbled over to her bed, throwing his arms around her neck. He repeated her name again and again, kissing her forehead and cheeks repeatedly. "Thank God yer awake." He pulled away enough to look at her. Her eyes were confused, a bit scared. Instinct kicked in to make her not afraid. "What's wrong, Em?"

Her little smirk, the simple pull in the corner of her mouth, filled his aching heart with joy. He had missed it for so long. "I'm just so…so…lost." Her voice was a rasp and he knew she must be thirsty.

Raph kissed her forehead again. "Let me get ya a glass of water, and I'll get Don so he can look ya over, and then I'll get everythin' straightened out, okay?"

Emily nodded slightly, her heart beating anxiously knowing he was about to leave. When he had entered the room, most of her memories clicked into place. It was his lips that had kissed her. It was his voice that had spoken her name. It was his arms that had always held her. It was his bow that was tied around her finger. She was his intended.

The name Don also brought back foggy, unorganized memories. Brother, nerd, medic, technology, bo staff, and purple all blended into an incomplete picture of him.

Raph was back a few moments later, his caramel eyes absolutely alive. "Don'll be in here in a few minutes. He's tryin' to get Kait comfortable." He handed Emily the glass of water, helping her support it as she sipped gently.

But Emily's mind had just taken a dive into livid envy. "Kait?" she asked, her voice noticeably bitter.

Raph nodded, taken aback by her harshness. "She's an artist. We took her in a little while ago to protect her from the Foot. She's Don's squeeze." Raph smiled a bit, proud of his little brother's manly prowess to hook up with the human.

Emily visibly relaxed. When she had head the name of another woman, she had first thought that Raph had found someone else since she had last opened her eyes. She understood that it had been awhile since then. "I'm happy for him. Is somethin' wrong?" she asked, curious about the new woman. The pit of her stomach still hadn't settled about her.

Raph nodded a little. "The Foot sold her out to that cult I told ya about from a few years back. They nailed her to a cross last night. Her hands and feet aren't in too good shape." Emily nodded, feeling bad for the other woman.

"How long has it…has it been?" Emily managed to choke out the emotional question.

"Four months." Raph murmured quietly. "I've been waitin' for your eyes to open up every day since he…since he shot you."

Emily remembered that. The emotional pain of Raph taking the man's, the rapist's, life in his hands and the physical pain of being shot in the ensuing struggle were fresh in her mind. "Where are we?" she asked, attempting to alleviate the first fear that had come to her when she opened her eyes.

"Casey's family's farmhouse. We hid here back when we teenagers. I don't' think I've been here in ten years."Emily nodded, understanding her surroundings.

"Why are we here?" Emily asked, the confusion leaking back into her voice.

Raph took a deep breath in preparation for the story. "Kait got dragged into the whole Foot issue, and they used her ta try and get ta us. In the process, I killed Karai. The Foot sent a whole group of guys ta replace her, and they took Kait as a way ta make sure we listened. They gave us a week ta leave the city. They gave Kait ta the cult ta make sure we left. So we're goin' ta lay low here for a little while."

Emily absorbed it all in stride and began to question more when there was a tentative knock on the door and Don, sans his purple mask, poked his head in. His smile was huge as he saw his almost-sister-in-law with her eyes open.

"Hey, Emily." He greeted happily as he walked in, coming to the bedside opposite Raph.

"Hey, Don." She returned, happy to see a familiar face.

"How are you feeling?" Don asked, but his eyes were on the machinery around her.

She shrugged a little, feeling the tug of the IV in her arm. "My head's all fuzzy and I feel weaker than I ever have before."

"Expected considering you haven't moved in four months. I can start you in a muscle retraining today if you feel up to it." He was happy for Emily, but even she could see he was distracted by something.

Raph beat her to the questioning. "Is Kait okay?" he asked, concerned.

Don shook his head slightly, turning off the machines around Emily. "I had to sedate her. Even the topical anesthetic didn't relieve the pain. She should wake up in a few hours."

Raph reached over and patted his arm. "She'll be okay soon. Just stick with her."

He nodded and started gently taking electrodes off of her forehead and chest, silencing the EKG and EEG machines. "Emily, if you feel up to it, we can do a strength test with you right now."

"If it means I can get out of this bed sooner, do whatever you want, Don." The boys were happy to see that she was returning to herself with every passing second.

Don nodded and started asking her to push and pull against his grip in both arms, both legs, and then broken down into each individual joint. He also asked her to try and sit up under her own power. All of her results shocked him. Her body had remained quite intact despite being given four months to atrophy. She had lost weight, but it was manageable. Don even considered that she might be able to walk in a few days.

She was shocked, knowing a bit about comas and injuries, until Don gave her a bashful smile. "I may have tested some hypothesize about muscle atrophy on you while you were out. Raph was responsible for massaging major muscle groups and we made sure to keep you moving. We also kept your muscles activated with electrodes."

Emily giggled a little. "I don't see why I didn't expect you to experiment on me."

"I'll help her downstairs." Raph piped up, his hand finding Emily's on the bed. "If ya want ta, doll." He added carefully.

Thankfully for him, she nodded, looking to Don for his medical go ahead. He nodded as well, backing out of the room to check on his girlfriend, leaving the engaged couple together.

Emily struggled to sit up, having to prop herself up on her elbow. "Come here." She murmured to him, her eyes finding his with a shocking passion. Raph obeyed, sitting beside her on the bed. She pushed herself even higher, her torso even with his, allowing her to hold onto his shoulders and draw her lips up to his, kissing him slowly and passionately.

Raph managed to gently translate four months of loss and loneliness into one kiss as he held her, pulling her into his arms. Emily responded in kind, kissing him back with as much emotion. They pulled apart after a few moments, breathing deeply and just looking at each other, small smiles on their faces.

"I missed ya." Raph murmured, reaching to gently touch her face.

Emily smiled and motioned that he could help her up. She could move all the parts of her body, but not with the strength required to support herself quite yet. So Raph wrapped an arm around her tiny waist, holding the entirety of her weight but allowing her to go through the motion of walking.

Leo saw them at the top of the stairs as he was talking into the kitchen and he froze there, his mouth agape.

"Emily!" he shouted, running up the stairs to her and wrapping her up in a hug.

Mikey was woken up by the shout and stumbled to the foot of the stairs, confused. When he saw the little woman with black hair, his face broke into his trademark childlike smile as he too ran up the stairs to drag her into a hug of his own. Splinter slowly made his way to the foot of the stairs, smiling as he watched his sons reunited with Emily. The joy on their faces, especially Raph's, made him immensely happy. They eventually let her down the stairs where Splinter gently wrapped his arms around her waist, welcoming her back to the world that had missed her greatly. He also enquired about Don, to which Raph repeated what his brother had told him about sedating Kait.

Leo went about cooking breakfast, what he had originally been walking to the kitchen to do, as Mikey, Raph, Splinter, and himself caught Emily up on everything she had missed in the past four months.

"Ya know what we all forgot about?" Raph garbled around the pancakes Leo had put in front of him. "Today's Kait's birthday. She's twenty-seven now."

The others were surprised that she was that old, and that they had forgotten in the week leading up to that day to celebrate her birthday.

"I don't think she's gonna celebrate it." Emily piped up around her milk, not having much of an appetite quite yet.

Mikey shook his head. "If anybody would have a good time on their birthday, even with four holes in 'em, it's Kait."

"She sounds like quite the woman." Emily murmured. Though the jealousy had faded, she still didn't quite trust this idol of a woman that the boys seem to have fawned over in her absence.

Don came down about an hour later, lured in by the smell of pancakes and coffee. He mumbled good morning to his family before jogging back upstairs with food for two in his hands.

"He's gonna be as bad as you were, Raph." Leo sighed, watching his younger brother return to Kait.

Raph nodded, turning to explain to Emily. "In the beginnin', probably the first month, I wouldn't leave yer room unless one of 'em dragged me out."

Emily reached over to squeeze his hand as tight as she could. "Thank you." She whispered, smiling at him with earnest.

It took another hour for the door upstairs to open again, but this time they didn't hear it close. The boys could hear quiet murmuring and a steady descent down the stairs, but Don didn't turn into the kitchen. Instead, they heard his shuffle enter the living room and the old springs in the couch gently took weight. Don then appeared in the kitchen, smiling at his family, especially Emily.

"Well, it looks like you can finally meet Kait." He told her with a cautious smile. "She woke up a few minutes ago and the pain is doing better." The boys were excited, but Emily was wary.

Attempting to bite down the unease, she murmured for Raph to help her into the living room. The others beat them in there, but they had reserved the plush chair for her. Raph was initially in front of her as he eased her into the chair, so it took a few moments for Emily to actually see the other woman.

When she did, the jealousy reared its ugly head again. Kait was beautiful, even curled up against Don on the couch in sweatpants and a jersey shirt, even bandaged and bruised and tired, her hair ruffled in a few places. Her skin was a nearly perfect cream color and her hair was a lustrous strawberry blonde. Her eyes, despite her misfortune, were bright and alive, dancing to everyone in the room, including Emily. Her body was thin and petite, unlike Emily's compact and muscular frame. Everything about her appearance was better than Emily.

"Hi, my name is Kait Daws." Even her voice was prettier, Emily seethed, watching as the other woman moved to extend her hand, stopping herself after a few inches. "The boys have told me so much about you." Kait was all smiles to Emily, excited to finally meet her for real.

But Emily only nodded. "I hope it was mostly good." She sighed, shifting around in the chair. Kait's presence was making her nervous.

Kait nodded and was about to say something when the boys suddenly burst into a not so harmonious rendition of "Happy Birthday," but she smiled all the same. She almost went to clap before Don gently grabbed her wrists, holding her hands still and gently shaking his head.

She nodded just as gently as she continued to smile at the others. "Thank you, guys!" she told them happily, absolutely beaming.

"Happy birthday, love." Don murmured as he touched his lips against her temple, shifting his hold on her, further cradling her against his chest.

Emily saw the love radiating off the two of them, and the jealousy and the rage only got worse.

Who was this girl to come into their lives, to wedge herself into their secrets? How was Emily supposed to trust this blonde bimbo that had managed to get her hooks into Don? Who knew what else Kait had done while Emily was in her coma, not there to temper the boys' second brains from letting Kait walk all over them?

Emily decided, as he watched the brothers fawn over her and Kait, that she would pull their blinders off and unmask the little pretender.

**AN: She's awake!**

**But not all things are right in the world. **

**As always, questions and comments are welcome.**

**Sincerely,  
C M**


	16. Chapter 16

Three days later and no truce had been reached. Every time Kait entered a room that Emily was already in, the younger of the two women would shoot an ice cold glare at the older one. If Emily entered a room that Kait was already in, she pretended Kait had never been there. And Raph and Don were stuck in between them, neither wanting to pick sides for fear of upsetting their significant other or their brother.

Three days in, both women had begun their recovery, but Emily was recovering much faster. Because of the electrodes that Don had used during her coma, her muscles had barely atrophied, meaning within three days Emily was walking on her own, only needing the occasional support of Raph's forearm. Kait, on the other hand, couldn't walk or pick anything up on her own, Don had to be constantly around her to help her do even the most basic tasks. Doctor Perry told them that it could be weeks before her feet healed and months before her hands healed, so Kait was to be defenseless for a while longer.

Especially defenseless against Emily and her acrid attitude towards her. The third morning in the farm house, Emily came into the living room, where Kait was looking out the windows, watching the boys train in the front yard. She smiled whenever Don glanced in at her, making sure she was alright or if she needed anything.

"I don't see why he brought you here." Emily hissed, standing over top of Kait's perch in the couch.

The blonde looked up at her, shocked at the directness of the comment. "Because I wasn't safe in the city." Her voice was as quiet and shy as it used it used to be, any confidence she had gained in the past months washed away by the steely blue glare Emily was giving her.

Emily scoffed, crossing her muscular arms over her chest. "You're the one that put them in danger." The icy edge to her voice terrified Kait, making her pull herself in even farther.

Kait glanced out the window, hoping Don would look back, hoping that he would come in and help protect her from Emily. But Don was busy talking to Leo, he didn't notice Kait's desperate look.

"Don's not gonna come and save you this time." Emily hissed. "I just wish he could see who you really are. But you've got him all twisted around your finger with your lies and your seduction!" She was shouting by time she finished the rant, standing all the way at the foot of the couch, inches in front of Kait's curled in legs.

"I didn't do anything to him!" Kait shouted back. "I love Don!" Kait's voice was higher pitched than Emily's her voice strained with emotion.

Emily scoffed again. "You can't love them like I can. You don't understand them like…"

"I was there when you were asleep!" Kait's voice was being strangled by her emotions. She hadn't loved anyone like she loved Don and she hadn't fit in with anyone like she fit in with the family. But it was coming under fire from the last person she had expected. "How can you know how I feel about Don, about Raph and Mikey and Leo and Splinter? You've only known me for three days. You had months to be with the boys, so have I. We both got into some hot water. So don't go saying I don't care about them when you ended up in even worse shape than me! You never saw Raph when you were out! You never saw what you did to him!"

In a fit of rage Emily hadn't experienced in years, she grabbed Kait by the shoulders of her sweater, pulling her off the couch and onto the ground, standing over top of her, ready for a fight. Kait reached out to catch herself out of habit, her weight coming down onto her useless hands, pulling a bloody shriek out of Kait as she skidded across the wooden floor.

Don and Raph had heard the shouting, but didn't think they were really needed until Don heard Kait scream. He grabbed his older brother by the arm and dragged him to the house. When they burst through the door, Emily was on Kait, punching and elbowing as Kait just tried to curl in on herself, her arms brought up around her face and her knees struggling to protect her ribs. But Emily was ruthless and she was trained, her punches and elbows landing hard and fast as she sat atop the older woman. Kait didn't even have the wind to shout for help as Emily repeatedly hit her.

Raph was the first to react, grabbing Emily around the waist and dragging her off of Kait, pulling her to the other side of the room and holding her tight, Emily's feet flailing off the ground as she tried to fight out of Raph's grip. Don was quick to reach Kait's side as she lay on the ground, not moving any more than sucking in deep and broken breaths.

"Kait, baby, are you ok?" Don asked her, pulling her head into his lap and looking at the blood leaking out of her mouth and nose.

She shook her head, a sob coming through in between breaths. Don took hold of her sweater's zipper and unzipped it, gently pulling her out of it so he could lift up her shirt to check her ribs. Her small little body was already starting to bruise under his hands as he found no broken ribs, just very tender flesh.

"I'm taking her upstairs." Don growled to his brother, his anger rising up his spine as he collected Kait in his arms, her head lolling against his shoulder as she began to sob more. "Keep Emily away from her!" he shouted before taking the stairs as quickly as he could to get Kait into their room.

Raph finally set Emily down but kept a firm grip on her arm. "What the…"

"She isn't what you think she is!" Emily shouted at him, glaring up at him with anger and frustration.

Raph wanted to laugh, but his own anger turned it into a harsh cackle. "And ya think ya know what she is? Ya've been awake fer three days and ya think ya know?" He squeezed onto her even harder. "Kait was there fer us and fer Don fer months. We trust her. Ya better trust her after all she's tried ta do fer us." Raph let go of her with a bit of a push. "Stay away from her, Em. She's hurt and she isn't a fighter. And ya got no right trying ta go after her." He stormed out of the room and up the stairs to check on Kait and Don and try to apologize, because he knew Emily never would.

That left Emily in the living room to try and rationalize what had just happened, to try and come to terms with the idea that another woman would have come into their lives. She had to understand that she wasn't the only one that had worked their way into the family anymore. She wasn't the only one that had their love and their affection. It hurt her and her ego to think that, but part of her, a very small part, was almost happy that now Don had someone to love. Maybe Leo and Mikey would be next.

She still hated Kait. That would take a lot to weed out. But Emily decided right there and then that maybe she could have been wrong, and that thought scared her. As someone that had lived their entire life based on get reactions, to be wrong was unsettling.

Emily was silent in the living room when Raph came back downstairs, wiping his hands off on his thighs after helping Don change Kait's bandages after the scuffle. "Ya didn't break anythin' on her." He growled, standing in front of Emily, looking down at her.

She scoffed a little, her ego and attitude still in control. "I'm surprised. She's weak."

"She's stronger than ya think. They crucified her. Em. That's why her hands and feet are bandaged. They nailed her to a cross because she was sleeping with Don." Raph honestly liked Kait. He liked the little light she was in their family. He just wanted his fiancé to understand that Kait was one of them, that she had earned their place with them.

Emily's face paled as she looked down at her own hands, scraped up from the beating. "I didn't know."

"Of course ya didn't know!" Raph almost shouted, but kept his temper in check. Emily's stubbornness had not been tempered by the coma, she was still the hard headed and strong woman he had fell in love with. Raph pulled her into a tight hug, his head resting on top of hers. "Ya gotta give her a chance, Love. She'll surprise ya."

Don was down a few minutes later, his face set in grim and harsh lines. "She's sleeping now." His glare rested down on Emily as soon as he reached the living room. "Don't even think about going near Kaitlynn until she is better. I don't want you near her at all. She told me what happened. You had no right to start yelling at her, much less pummel her. She's…"

"I know." Emily sighed, her head ducking down and her hair falling into her face. "She's not a fighter, she's recovering, and more importantly you love her."

Don was surprised that the usually stubborn Emily had admitted her mistake. "Yes, but she still is seeing the best in you. She told me to give you these, Raph." He fished out a small pouch out of his belt and put it in his brother's waiting hand before jogging back up the stairs, not willing to leave Kait unsupervised.

Raph opened the drawstrings on the small pouch before turning the contents over into his hand. Out tumbled three little golden bands. One had three little diamonds set in it, one was a simple gold band, and one was obviously a man's ring.

"Why would she give you those?" Emily asked, her suspicions rising again.

"She's givin' them to us." He sighed, shaking his head with a smirk.

Slowly, his muscles aching from an incomplete practice, he knelt in front of Emily, gently finding her left hand and beginning to untie the bow that had been on her finger for months. Once he had seen the women's rings, he had known they would fit her rather well. He slid the diamond ring onto her left ring finger with a small smile.

"Still wanna marry me, Emily?" he asked quietly, more than a little hopeful.

She nodded, a small smirk mirroring his. "Of course, Raphael."

He stood and hugged her, picking her off the floor a little. "I love ya, Em."

"I love you too, Raph."

**AN: I'm so sorry that this has been a slow to arrive chapter, but I've had the worst technical time lately. New phone, new laptop, Windows 8, Word 2013…oh boy. Well, I have finally beaten the new laptop and word program into submission in order to churn out this chapter. Short, I know, but there isn't that much left to do in this story. Unfortunately, The Logic Puzzle is coming to a close. **

**But have no fear, this isn't the last you'll see of Emily, Kait, and the boys! Random Reviewer the 2****nd****, a loyal reader of mine, has been creating her own story, which introduces new OCs to the mix and continues the lives of my girls. Don't know when she's gonna put it out there for you all to read, but I've been beta-ing what she's been writing and it's great. She definitely carries on the girls very well. **

**As always, any questions, comments, or concerns are always welcome.**

**Sincerely,  
C M  
idkaname**


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